What Is There To Love?
by PurpleHippopotamus
Summary: Kori's wised up from putting too much confidence in boys and love and yearns independence. Dick's a player who's sick of playing a game with silly girls and their senseless systems and wants a break from the field.These two just want to be left alone and the only way for that to happen is for them to be together. Will these two ever find happiness and learn to love a little?
1. Shake Up From the Usual Routine

**Actual Summary:** Kori's wised up from putting too much confidence in boys and love. She's as tough as nails now and is determined to be independent and start living her own life, away from men. Dick's a player who's sick of being in a game with silly girls and their senseless systems. He wants peace from women and their incessant love-filled-delusions. These two just want to be left alone and the only way for that to happen is for them to be together. Will these two ever find happiness and learn to love a little?

**Chapter 1: Get Ready For a Shake Up From the Usual Routine.**

"Morning Q," Dick Grayson swaggered through the lobby wearing his routine sunglasses and with a dark jacket over his shoulder.

"Good morning," quipped the man standing at a height of barely 5 feet, behind the counter. He urgently moved from his place to chase as he continued, "There is something I must discuss with you about your living conditions, Sir"

"Oh, everything is just perfect, don't worry." answered Dick.

"This is not about your room, Sir, it-"

Dick stopped walking and spun around, leaning his back against the glass door. "Then it can wait till I get back. I'm late for a meeting."

"But, I think you will find this is urgent." urged Mr.Q.

"Right now I am urgently needed at the office." He coolly replied as he pushed open the door.

The little man scurried out the building after Richard, beginning to get nervous, "It would be better if you knew it now rather than later-"

"Sorry, Q! Haven't got the time," he shouted as he jumped into his Porsche. He punched his key into ignition and the engine roared to life.

"But Mr. Grayson, we agreed that-"

"Bye Q!" He gave a little wave as he sped away, literally leaving the small Asian man in his dust.

_Later that day_

SCREECH!

Dick parked his Porsche in front of a building, somewhere around his apartment's not-so-friendly area. The sleek shiny metallic glimmered in the dark almost empty streets. After turning off the engine, he rested back and let out a huge frustrated sigh, wrapping his arm around his forehead.

_What a day, _he thought to himself as he sat in the quiet darkness, allowing his thoughts to overtake him.

The day Dick Grayson stepped foot into Wayne Enterprises was the day the female workforce of Wayne Enterprise woke up. Like hungry bored wolves, their eyes perked up at the sight of him. He was the new meat. All of them came rushing at him, some alone, others in pairs or in packs, all wanting a taste of the widely renowned, once listed "most eligible billionaire bachelor". The only thing that surpassed his reputation of dateability was his title as an irresistible player and heartbreaker. At first, it was like paradise and Dick let himself sink into sweet temptation while allowing most of them a taste.

He adored the attention. It was amusing to see the desperate attempts the girls cam up with just to talk to him.

They knew what they were getting themselves into. He was a player; a real heartless player, and he didn't bother hiding it. He broke a lot of hearts and Wayne Enterprise received a few tear-stained resignation slips because of it. It was all good at first, but all too quickly, and after some fights with Bruce over the employee transfer rate, Dick got bored of these feeble attempts. He started ignoring them and that only made them try harder. The boring tries were getting on his nerves.

Mail girls would purposely take the wrong mail to his office just so they could see him, then leave it there so they could come back to get it, or if they're lucky get him to find them to return it. Coffee girls lingered outside his door and chased after him with cups after cups of coffee, which he kindly rejected. The female CEOs came one-by-one to his office to seek approval and assistance on their new upcoming proposals. Dick wasn't completely sure if this was because he was their boss' son or because they wanted to see him, but either way he didn't want to see them.

Then, there was Marla, the blessing that came from the heavens. She was the elderly head secretary and administration. She was the only female who treated him like a person, not a God. Like any secretary to a normal person, Marla completely ignored him. She never reciprocated to his attempts to start a conversation, nor did she even bother show any kindness to staying put throughout his talking. She kept the entire office running from her little front desk when all the other incompetent girls were screwing things over. Today, unfortunately, there was a new girl in the office. She was supposed to be Marla's assistant. The damn girl caused the whole server to go down while she was trying to patch through to Dick's office. Bruce wasn't really upset, but Marla on the other hand, was anything but pleased.

_Stupid, stupid girls. They're so unbelievable. They're so dense, yet so quick. So oblivious yet so cunning. I have had it. They have no self control either. They'll put everyone at an inconvenience just to get a hold of me. They seem so strong and determined and at first, with lots of charisma, so different and so interesting. But the moment you let them into your life, BOOM. They break down, becoming so pitiful. Soon they come up with the most delusional desires of 'happily ever after'. They'll be happily clinging to your arm one moment then blocking your texts and calls the next. Not to mention the amount of crying and nagging they let loose on you. Dick Grayson is a player, and proud of it. Did these girls really expect anything more than a week? He was just looking for some fun. It seems like women are all whiny, desperate creatures. They want a lot of things and will stir up all kinds of trouble to get them. They always seem different, but in the end, they're all the same._

Letting out another sigh, he got out of his car. Sounds of a deep rhythmic bass came crashing into his ears. He needed a drink. Urgently. He took a deep breath before yanking off his tie and flinging it back into the car. He walked straight into the doors of the building he parked in front of.

The place was packed with more scum than actual people and stank of piss. The wallpaper was peeling, there were cracks were on the ceiling and it looked like a board had crashed to the ground from God knows where. The best thing about this place was the horrible music; it was insanely loud. Dick could barely hear himself think, let alone anything girls would have to say to him.

Before he knew it, he was surrounded by a pack of girls, they were trying to tell him something but all the heard was the atrocious music. Their shiny lips mouthed him some words before showing him perfect sets of teeth. He replied politely by pointing to his ears and shaking his head before pushing part them to the bar._ This really is the best place to be, _he thought, a smile taking form on his lips.

He sat on a high worn out barstool and pointed to a bottle in the shelf behind the counter. A small glass was placed in front of him.

_Tequila. What better way to take a load off._

A generous slice of lemon sat like a hat on the little glass. He looked down at the smooth liquid sitting idly in front of him and as he was about to gulp it down-

CRASH. CLINK. BANG. THUMP!

The glass was knocked out of his fingers. Someone knocked it out of his grasp, but not with their hand, instead, with their entire body. A man, had just slid across the countertop on his back, knocking his drink onto the floor. The guy landed on the floor next to his barstool, a small pool of tequila and shattered glass surrounded his face.

"The fuck?" Dick said, whipping his head around. "Who on Earth could have knocked you out?" Dick said as he examined the man, who lay unconscious on the floor. He was a really big burly guy, looked like he could take a punch and give a lot more back. And it looked like a big black bruise was starting to swell up on the bottom of said man's jaw.

Turning to his right, where the source of the ruckus came from, Dick couldn't help but stare.

Fire.

That was his first thought. 'Legs' was his next. Leggy, tight ass and tall. Sounded like a usual Friday night. A figure of long red hair stood there. Dick couldn't see her face since she was facing the other way. Her right hand was clenched into a fist and the left was wrapped around a shot of tequila, similar to the one he held earlier. There was a big circle of space around her. All eyes in the club were targeted on her. There was silence in the crowd through the music still blasted uncontrollably.

She dropped a bill on the counter to the bartender, a large black man, who looked like he just took a shit in his pants. She then turned to him and smiled. After that, he doubled over laughing. His laugh filled up whatever room was left in this forsaken loud and crowded place. Everyone gawked as she took the shot, and set the glass down with a bang. Mouths dropped as grabbed her handbag, coat and sashayed out the door, receiving a fabulous leave as the crowd parted to give her a walkway.

_Pssh. Women. _Dick thought._ Always causing a scene. That one might be the worse there is. She's real trouble…. Had to admit, her hair was gorgeous. _He signaled the bartender for another glass. _It's probably from a bottle, no way someone's hair can look that beautiful natural._

"Groaann…"

Dick turned to the floor on his left. The man's head rolled, as if he was stirring conscious.

_Hey, this guy just might see daylight tom-_

His head fell back with a thump.

_Guess not._

He nodded a thanks to the bartender as a shot was put in front of him.

_How'd she knock him out, though… Quite astounding…. for a woman…. Mmmm…I wonder…_

He glanced back at the doors.

_Oh fuck it, no Dick, no. Women are cumbersome creatures, no matter how beautiful they are. You should know this, you've been with more women than any other man has had for this lifetime and the next._

He shot down warm tequila.

_She had a really nice ass though. Fine legs too._

_"_Meh," he murmured as he shrugged.

"Keep them coming."

* * *

"Irritating drunk bastard."

Kori stood at the entrance, tugging on her coat. She silently cursed as she set off down the block in a huffed manner.

"Oh duh- hey there, are ya tired? Duh, ya must be since ya were running through my head.. " She imitated out loud.

_What happened to the male intelligence? Originality? Nobility? Are all men really such blistering idiots? And I thought Roy was bad. Pfft, but then again, he was too busy gelling his hair to come up with anything intelligent. Men. If they're not drunk idiots, they're vain and snobby._

She scoffed as she stamped her way through the scrummy streets under the night sky.

_I need to get used to them. It's not like they're going to die out…. Hah! If only. But then again, I guess not all men in general are horrible. The bartender was a really nice guy. We could've finished our nice conversation if that idiot hadn't shown up all slurry, smelling like a bar and started breathing piss down my neck. I'm used to guys staying through the first 'no' , but to lose control over his hands by the third one was just unacceptable. I am not going to let myself be touched, or used or dumped by some brainless, arrogant, vain, snobby drunk bunch of liars. Not anymore. I'm better than that. I'm a human being, not an old pair on underwear, I deserve respect._

After much more ranting, she found herself at her destination. She stopped outside a glass door and took a deep breath.

_Men. I've used up too much of my patience over them. Not again, not ever. Calm down, Kori._

She entered the lobby and greeted the landlord with a smile.

The little old man behind the counter, who was spinning on his little spinning chair, almost toppled backward.

_Sigh. Men._

She walked up to the lift to find it was in pieces. The door was open and inside, wires were sticking out everywhere, the light was flickering and the ceiling panes were moved out of place.

"Um, Excuse me, when will this be fixed?"

"Soon! It's being upgraded. Please take a seat."

"Hmm.. ok."

She looked around for a seat but there was none. Before she could say anything, the landlord came up behind her and offered his little spinning desk chair. She sat gratefully and got comfy.

10 minutes..

20 minutes..

40 minutes…

By this time, Kori already had her head on the table and she was asleep.

"Um, miss… miss… Miss!"

"mnnngulshnmn" was all that came out of her.

45 minutes..

"Miss! Miss! Miss! Wake up! The lift is ready to use."

"WHA-HUH?" Kori jerked up startled. "Oh! Thank you." She got up groggily and moved as quickly as she could to the lift. She pressed the button then ran back to the counter and picked up her discarded heels and purse and jumped into the lift when the doors ding-ed open.

"Goodnight," she wished to the landlord standing behind the counter as the lift doors shut on her with a soft thud.

* * *

DING.

"That new lift sure was fast!" Dick said chuckled to himself loudly. His voice reverberated across the empty corridor. Dick Grayson's room was the third door nearest to the lift.

Whatever lights were on flickered dimly. There were only 3 lights on, which covered the space from the lift to his door. The entire place gave on an omnious feeling and would have spooked any sane person. But at this time, Dick was used to the grimness and he was downright hammered.

He sang a little tune out loud, wiggling his feet across the stained carpet. "First door." He made a little skip in his step as he walked pass the door. "Seeeeeeccond door." He paused, looking around like a cartoon character before rapping the door quickly. "Oh wait, it's unoccupied, just like the rest of the floor!" He continued with moonwalking to the third door. He did a little spin, stopping in a pose in front of the dark, wooden frame. "Sanctuary!" he proclaimed to no one.

The word sliced through the dark melancholy oblivion that the corridor spread into.

The whole floor was empty, not another soul was there to see him or hear him or fawned over him. And he absolutely loved it.

He shook his fingers, tucked in the rest of his shirt and slapped his face."Okay! Now, where are my keys?" He dug his hands deep into his pockets and he searched. And just as he thought he found what he was looking for-

DING.

Even with his wasted and incoherent mind, Dick knew one thing for certain: the entire floor was empty. Nobody would come up here. He made sure of that with management. He glanced down the hall. Yeah, it was the right floor. The only floor with vacant rooms…. So then... who was that in the lift?

"What on Earth-," Dick started. His heavy head whipped to see the lift doors close and a distinctive figure start walking towards him. He could see the shadow sway from side to side. It made clicks and clacks that were getting louder as it neared him. He made out an astonishing shade of… red.

"Hi there, neighbor."

* * *

Hello all! I'm back! To pick up where I left off, I decided to reread my story and i had to stop reading by the end of chap 1. It was so badly written. Ugh. Ew. It gave me cancer. I just had to rewrite it, so I did. Nothing much changed, but hopefully it's better written and a bit more amusing cause I decided to display a tad of Kori and Dick's childish/drunk sides. Please don't hate me.


	2. Unwanted Dings Are The Most Alarming

A girl. A hot girl. A hot girl super model had just arrived onto his floor and was standing right next to him. She said something a second ago but it was hazy in Richard's fazzled mind. He rubbed his eyes and looked back. She was still there, rummaging through her purse. Was she a mirage? Just a beautiful illusion? Or did the tequila shots too effective at unknotting his mind? She was standing directly in front of the door right next to his. The fourth door. She pulled her hand from her purse.

"Sorry miss, I think you're on the wrong floor," Dick said, in an almost pleading tone.

"Um... No, don't think so," she replied, seeming oblivious or perhaps intentionally being ignorant to his desperate hands reached for the doorknob. He lunged forward and grabbed her hands and the doorknob, almost stumbling. She turned to him, surprised by his sudden and really clumsy move. He tilted his head up while his body slouched slightly. She was tall. Then he stopped. He had reached her eyes. They were a magnificent light green with dark little speckles in the irises.

"Excuse me." The words escaped her lips, it sounded so sweet. It took Richard a minute to realise he had to do something.

"Oh- Ahem. I don't think.. you're supposed to be here." He announced slowly and clearly. Could he be possibly hesitating?

She pulled her hand with the key out from under his and put in on top of his. She inched her face closer to his and smiled as she asked him,"And why not?"

"You can't stay here," he blurted out. "Cause, you see, I'm the only occupant on this floor."

"Well, that clears it then. I guess I'll have to pack my things and move to another apartment building then." Her voice was different now. It had a sugary tone to it. Richard felt quite put off by it. "Cause you're the only occupant on this floor." Her face might have been smiling but her eyes weren't.

"Well, what I mean to say is-"

"Not any more." She stated deftly. She rolled her eyes before she twisted the doorknob under his hands and pushed the door open.

With his hands still on hers and the doorknob, he pulled the door back to an almost close, as Kori stopped the door with her foot.

She turned back to him, her eyes looked like loaded guns ready to fire. Her hair seemed almost alive and angry. She angled her body to face his. He had her full attention. Her hand was still on the doorknob, under his, refusing to let go. Her other hand was now cocked on her hip as she glared down on him.

_Why can't she just let go? Things would be so much easier if women just let go of the small things. _

_Who does this drunk asshole think he is? I paid good money for this place. It was a steal and I'm not going to give it up for the sake of feeding this guy's pride of being 'the only occupant on this floor'. Arrogant little... Well, let's see what this guy's got then._

His jaw was starting to tighten. He took a deep breath and calmly said, in his most practiced honest-sounding and gentlemanly tone, "I'm sorry i think we got off to a misunderstanding. You see, this floor has been reserved for me and only me. I've personally made arrangements with the manager of this fine settling. And as you can see, this floor is not very suitable for a beautiful young lady such as yourself. It would be better for your well-being as well as my conscious if you go somewhere else where you won't be so vulnerable. Somewhere cleaner, with better lighting and less odour. Another floor maybe. Somewhere where your place would just be yours and so that my place could just be mine." He used a finger to pull up her chin, and pulled a devilish smirk. Any second now, he was expecting her to blush or swoon or faint or bawl or stutter an apology or all of the above, as girls would usually do when he was near them. He, however, received a different result.

Her glare softened, but never left his eyes. Her face changed once more. She moved her free hand onto his under her chin and took a step forward, closing the gap between them, just grazing his body. They were roughly the same height, he if not an inch or two taller. Their hands were still overlapping each other on the doorknob. She put his hand back by his side and her fingers slid up his arm to behind his neck. She gazed at his face for a second as she leaned in. She gently pulled his face closer to hers, their cheeks almost making contact. She moved her lips close to his ear and whispered, "I'm going to pretend I didn't hear that."

She felt him give off a shiver. She couldn't hold back a smile as she went on,

"Try and recall what happened to you that led you to lose your first drink….."

He gulped.

_He remembers now._

_"_If you think knocking a 300 pound guy off his feet and across the bar is all I can do, "she let out a warm breath of laughter that made his eyes go wide. "You don't even know how **dead **wrong you are. So I advise you shut your trap, pull up your zip and go back into your room and never come out. Cause if I ever see your face again, I'll be the only **living** occupant on this floor."

She stepped back. Picking his other hand off the doorknob and placing it back at his side while he stood still there, she opened the door. The door creaked slow and painfully and it stretched to open up. She kept the eye contact, her eyes trained on his face. She returned his smirk before walking into the room and shutting the door.

Click. The close of the door echoed in his mind as strongly as her perfumed stayed on him.

Dick was dumbfounded for a moment. To have someone talk to him like that. Nobody talked that way to Dick Grayson. Especially not any woman. He wasn't going to let her have the last word. He was about to say something and stepped in front of the similiarly wooden door next to his when her words rang in his mind, "if I ever see your face again, I'll be the only **living** occupant on this floor." He found himself gulping again and stepping aside, back to his door. He put his hands in his pockets and got his keys out, trying to fit them into the lock. However, he had a hard time as he found they were tingling too insanely to use them.

Dick Grayson: renowned millionaire player, notorious women swooner and heartbreaker, who usually couldn't walk down the street without getting mobbed by girls, a man who dazzled women with his smile; hypnotized them with this eyes, fooled them with his scripted honesty, pleased them with his pillow talk and twisted them around his small toe with his charming wit. This same man has just met a girl immune to him. She saw him at the bar, yet she did not come up to him. She noticed his drink got knocked out of his yet she didn't bother apologizing, or getting him another drink. She instead walked out of the building, not sending a single glance his way. She had his body pressed up against hers, something women around him could only fantasize about, yet she did not try to touch him inappropriately. He had his hand, heck, both hands on her, yet she did not respond. He was with her, alone, for over 5 minutes, and during their entire time together, she didn't ask for his number or offer hers. She did not faint nor gush. She did not scream. She did not cling on. Heck, she didn't even blush, once. He knew this feeling well enough, but had never, not once in his life, received it from a woman. The feeling of not being made a fuss off, being brushed off as if he was someone ordinary. It was strange.


	3. Wake Up Call

**Chapter 3: Wake Up Call**

* * *

_Next Morning._

Dick came down from his apartment room. The room at the top floor, the emptiest floor, or used to be emptiest floor.

"Good morning ."

"Why, Q, why? Last night, I came back to find I have a neighbor. Why didn't you tell me?"

"But sir, I tried to yesterday morning! You were busy, sir."

"Tut-tut-tut. Don't give try to give me excuses. Q, I was willing to stay on the only floor that was too inhospitable for other guests. I even paid double."

"I know sir, but she was willing to stay on that floor too. She requested it! She said the same as you did when you first entered the lobby. She said-"

"Don't try to change the subject. I know what I said. I did you a favour, Q. So how about you repay my courtesy? Hhhm?"

"I am truly sorry, sir, but I cannot take back her key. She just finished moving in yesterday. She even went out for a drink to celebrate."

"Look here, I paid you twice what that stinking room cost with one condition: the floor was to be kept empty."

"But sir-"

"Did she pay extra? "

"No, but- "

"Did she threaten you? "

"No, but- Sir,"

"Then I cannot see why you would do that. You violated our deal, our trust, my-"

"OH I AM TERRIBLY SORRY, SIR. Please forgive me! But, I could not deny such a delightful lady. "

"It's okay, Q. I'm willing to forgive you. You just need to make sure she vacates the floor. And that she never comes back."

"But, sir. It is one woman. One very beautiful woman. Surely you cannot mind."

"Get her off the floor. Kick her out, onto another floor, I don't care, I want that floor empty."

"I-I- I cannot, Sir! I Cannot! Her voice is melodious to my ears and makes me drift off into paradise. Her smile brightens the whole room and those pearls of hers are the rarest jewels I've seen. She glows whenever I see her. She makes this 3star hotel into the Ritz. And her bod-"

"Enough, Q. You heard me. I want her out. She has to move off the floor."

"Not gonna happen."

Dick turned around slowly to find Kori standing there her long red hair pulled into a pony tail and clad in office attire: a pencil skirt and tucked in button down top paired nicely with heels. She held a gym bag in one hand and her handbag in the other. Q seemed dumbfounded by her appearance, his mouth hanging open.

Dick was about to say something to cover up his last few words, but Kori beat him to it.

"I paid good money for that room. Every single belonging of mine has been unpacked and sorted out. If you think I'm going to move off just for the sake of fulfilling your petty need of being alone, forget it. If you really have a problem with me, discuss with me like an adult. Going behind my back and troubling Mr.Q is just plain childish. " With that, she started on her way out of the door, her heels clicking softly after her.

Dick was left at the counter, feeling small as a mouse.

_Was what she said true? Was I really being childish? Well, I just wanted to be alone… But then again, I could've talked to her about it. _

He glanced out the glass door to see Kori hailing for a cab.

_She won't get any luck at this end of the block. _He thought. The apartment was at the end of the block. Quite far away from the junction at the top of the block, where a taxi stand was. Taxis didn't usually come down here anyways. The place wasn't exactly the Hamptons. It was possible, just very rare.

Sigh. _She's busy with her own life, moving into a new apartment, settling in on her ow … She even has a job going for her._ _And here I am trying to get her kicked out. What a pain in the ass I am. Bruce sure was right about something_. _It's about time I grew up._

He sauntered out of the building and tapped her on the shoulder. She spun around, her emerald orbs rolling with the least bit of enthusiasm.

"Im sorry."

That caught her off guard.

"All those things you said in there were true. I was being childish and a real pain in the ass. Its just that-"

That's when a taxi pulled up.

_Of all the blasted times for a taxi to show up… _ Dick thought.

"I'm sorry, but I've really got to go." She opened the cab door. Dick crestfallenly made his way back to the building when she poked her head out the top of the door and shouted, "You seem like a decent guy. We'll talk later and you can finish your apology." She finished with a small smile then slammed the door close. Dick smiled to himself as the taxi zoomed off and walked back into the building.

_Feels nice to be taken seriously for a change. _Dick entered the building and noticed the analog clock behind the counter. _OH SHIT._

* * *

Kori sat in the back of the cab as she pondered, _I saw something I rare in that guy. Sincerity. He was genuinely sorry. It was written all over his face and clearly stated in his eyes. His eyes were so earnest. It only seemed fit to give him another chance. I guess we'll see who he really is the next time we get to talk._

Kori got out of the cab after paying the man and walked into the huge building. She entered the lobby and walked straight up to the front desk. "Excuse me, hi, I'm here for the job opening."

The woman at the desk smiled at her and said, "Yes, I was expecting you here yesterday."

"I'm sorry, I had just arrived in the city and was busy settling in. Didn't you get my message?"

"Oh yes, I did. Unfortunately I wasn't here yesterday and the substitute didn't do a very good job so work's all backed up. I need to sort a few things out before I can properly show you the ropes."

"Oh, ok. I see why you said I could come in late today."

"And there's an upcoming company event that needs to be sorted out but nobody has touched. So I'll put you on gift bagging today. Everything's still in its box so it's gonna be a real back-ach; fetching things, unpacking the boxes and putting them in bags then cleaning up. Few boxes are already under the table here, so you can get started with those. You up for it?"

"I'm fine. Lets get started!"

* * *

Dick walked hurriedly into the building halfway fixing his tie. He was greeted by the usual high-pitched "Good morning " that fluttered across the lobby. He ignored them as he usually did and marched to the boardroom. Bruce was going to murder him. "Morning" he absentmindedly said to the empty office chair at the reception desk which he passed on his way.

He finally reached the door. He fixed his hair before letting himself in.

"Ahh. Here he is now. Ladies and gentlemen, my ward, Richard Grayson. Take a seat, Rich. And as I was just about to announce, the Wayne Enterprise will be throwing its annual "Wayne Enterprise Summer Gala" to entertain our clients and to introduce our latest products to future investors. We'll need to make this one bigger and better than ones before. The competitors are getting more formidable and the market is becoming more demanding. So we need to up our game.….."

The meeting adjourned and as Dick was about to leave, Bruce pulled him aside.

"Rich, a word."

"What's up?"

"I know it's been rough between us the last couple of weeks, so let me be the first to break the tension. It pleases me to see you still coming to the office, late, but still coming." He paused for a while, thinking of the best way to continue. Bruce was a genius businessman but was a bit lacking when it came to family and feelings. "I just want you to know how much it would mean to me if you came for the gala this time. I'd like to have you by my side, not just as my protégé, but as my son." Bruce finished with a reassuring squeeze on his shoulder.

Dick smiled at his step-father and replied," Thanks Bruce. That means a lot to me. I'll be there."

He turned and began walking to the door when Bruce chimed in, "Just so you know, you're still welcome to come back home. Alfred's starting to miss cleaning up after you."

"Hmm… I'll think about it. But, for now, I'm pulling through on my own."

He walked out to the room and stopped at the front desk, his back and elbows leaning on the table. "Hey, Marla, where were you yesterday? You should've seen your standby. A complete airhead. Didn't know the difference between the fax and the phone." He said over his shoulder.

There was a ruffling noise and a slight moan.

Confused, Dick spun around and peeped over the table to see a very young feminine bum in a very tight skirt.

"You are certainly not Marla."

* * *

Kori had to go to the inventory room to fetch the boxes of Wayne Enterprised monogrammed gift bags. By the time she had come back, Marla left a note saying that she had to go out for awhile and asked Kori to watch the desk, and told her to start the gift bags there. Kori set off on her work immediately. With such crammed space behind the desk Kori had to keep her bum sitting on the office chair and lean down to cut open the boxes of Wayne Enterprise monogrammed merchandise that were under the desk. Anyone walking would just see an empty chair and suspect no one to be at the table.

They had no idea the tight and uncomfortable position Kori was in. She had barely touched the boxes when someone's voice had made her knock her head under the table. She looked up to find no one there. Grumbling, she went back under.

She had successfully opened the boxes and was packing the gift bags carefully when one of the pens rolled off the table. She had leaned back down when a voice above her started talking. She grabbed the pen along with more objects to pack and knocked her head, again. She moaned in discomfort. She had finally pulled her head up to meet a pair of familiar blue eyes brimming with disbelief.

"Hi there, neighbor."

"What are you doing here?" asked Dick.

"I'm working. What are you doing here?" was the second thing Kori said.

"I'm working. "

"Oh sure, gossiping to the secretary is working?"

"It's friendly conversation in the workplace."

"Hah," was all she replied. She continued dropping things into the bags.

"Anyways, I still owe you the rest of my apology. So can we talk?" Dick pleaded. He was persistent to apologize. It was the least he could do after being such a, well, dick. He didn't want to destroy the first chance of being treated seriously either.

"I'm sorry, I can't talk right now, I have a ton of things to do."

"Then…. How bout lunch? I know this really good place just around the corner."

"I have somewhere else to be during lunch."

Dick's eyes dropped a little. His enthusiasm was slowly diminishing.

"How bout drinks after work?" Kori quickly added. She read his feelings almost too easily.

"You don't mean the-"

"Yeah. That place."

"Fine with me. Guess I'll see you there, neighbour."

* * *

The title chapter sums up this whole chap, I'd have to say. Both Dick and Kori, even Bruce, 'wake up' and come to realise some things about themselves and each other And the fact that its one of my favourite Maroon 5 songs. Heh. Next chapter is ready, I just wanna torture you guys. :D


	4. Alone No More

**Chapter 4: Alone No More: Laughter, Closure and Neighbours.**

* * *

_After Work_

Kori sat comfortably on her seat, which stood at the edge of the bar, sipping a margarita. She set the glass down then closed her eyes and allowed herself to listen to the sounds of the club. The unavoidable beat of the blaring music, the laughter of friends having a good time, the sneers and giggles of the drunkards lying at waste in the corners or the room, the steps and stomps of feet on the dance floor, the screaming that got muffled over the noise of the music and the very often "WHAT DID YOU SAY?" Kori couldn't help but smile at the typicality that followed every club; this was not unlike the others.

From any intoxicated person's view, Kori looked like a girl who had fallen asleep sitting up. None of them would know what she was actually feeling, or actually listening to them. Focusing her senses, Kori was able to hear and feel the layers of things that seemed to have disappeared under the domineering beat. She could feel the air fill her lungs as she inhaled. She could hear the soft thumping of her heart, the chill of a shiver that ran through her system as she relaxed. She could feel the vibrations moving along the bar her arms rested on as glasses were slid down. It was the little things that made Kori smile.

STOMP. STOMP. STOMP. Stumble…

So much for the little things.

Irregular stomps on the ground were coming behind her. Staggering behind her.

_Ugh. Not another one._ She thought. _Not again…._

STOMP. STOMP. STOMP. Stumble…

The fall of feet came in threes then a stumble followed by a string of unattractive snorts. _Whatever. Like the other three guys, hopefully this one'll get the message and leave. _Her mind began focusing on the stomps, she just couldn't stop. She may have seemed indifferent at first, but her mood plunged into a cringe at the anticipation of another drunk fool walking up to her, disrupting her privacy. The stomps were approaching her.

_Don't come here. Just stumble into the next pretty girl that passes. I want to be-_

Someone was behind her.

"HEY."

Her eyes shot open. She twisted quickly to come face to face with a tie. A moving dark blue tie. She looked up to see it was Dick who stood there, loosening his tie.

Kori gave him a small wave with her hand as a sense of relief washed over her. Kori glanced pass Dick for a moment.

_I_ _could've sworn a drunk was coming._

Then she saw him: A tall, plain looking guy ambling his way back to the group of mean grins and hearty laughter. He was walking away from Kori.

_He's walking away from me…. He. Is. Walking….. __**Away….**__ from me. Away._

Kori control the smile on her mouth from emerging. She was ecstatic right now, but she'd have to celebrate later cause Dick was mouthing something to her.

"WHAT?" She shouted. The blare of the music drowned out both their voices.

"I SAID" was all Kori managed to hear from Dick before the song changed.

She shook her head, indicating she couldn't hear him.

Dick gestured his hand to the door.

WANNA GET OUT OF HERE? That's what he said earlier, realized Kori.

She tapped the bar, and the bartender came up to her, shaking a drink shaker. "HEY VIC, PUT IT ON THE TAB." He gave her a thumbs up before turning back.

She took her margarita as a shot and dragged Dick out of the club.

Squeezing out the doors of pass a few streaming people was like escaping a bubble, where the noise was trapped inside. As soon as the door closed, the blaring music stopped and cool fresh air breezed by. That was when silence settled upon the two

"THAT WAS A NICE EXPERIENCE," Shouted Dick.

"WHAT?"

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH….

Their laughter was the only thing that sounded in the middle on the street. No cars passed by, the stray cats stayed in the alley, grooming themselves and nobody was out.

"Why did you even choose that place?" Dick wondered aloud.

"Honestly?" Kori modestly looked away. "I didn't know anywhere else."

"I'll forgive you cause you're new."

"Aren't you the one who wants my forgiveness?"

"Well.. yeah.. Anyways, I know a real good place just around the block. Come on."

He took a few steps then stopped, waiting for Kori to follow beside him. Kori was looking back, to where their apartment building was.

_It's a Friday night….. _She reminded herself.

"Don't worry, I'll have you home before you turn back into a pumpkin."

"It's not that, its just-"

"Come on, what's the worst I could do? If I recall, knocking a 300 pound guy off his feet and across the bar isn't all you can do."

She rolled her eyes. _He thinks he's such a hotshot. _She took one last glance. _Nothing wrong with missing one night…._ She turned back to Dick.

"Lead the way!"

* * *

"A jazz club?"

"They're the best kind," answered as he opened the dark, barely painted door.

Dick led Kori around the block to a secluded little staircase that hid between two closed downed shop lots. The fact that its door sat next to its hinges, made the staircase leading into a dimly lit 'heaven' made Kori highly suspicious. The dusty, creaky steps together with the vandalised gray walls did not bring comfort to her either.

When they had finally reached a door with half its white paint flaking off, revealing its dark underneath, Kori couldn't hold back her curious anticipation, for mid way up, Kori heard music. And by the last step, a combination of guitar strings and saxophone blows became apparent to her ears.

"Well, my first thought was whore house," joked Kori.

Dick shook his head as he chortled, inviting Kori to walk in ahead of him

Kori took her first step onto the hard wood floor, and stopped there, taking in the view. The place was not very big, but the space had been used wisely. Not being painted, the wall's red bricks stood out against the few dark tables and chairs, giving a rustic ambience. In opposite corners stood a small bar as well as a slightly elevated stage, which held a live band. Kori looked up to see a disco ball peeking through the darkness among the ventilation tubes in the low ceiling.

The place had a good crowd, seeing how small and secluded this place was. People there were either alone or in groups of three or four, and the best thing was, no drunks from what Kori could see. The live music was considerably quiet for a night place, but loud enough to enjoy. They took seats at the bar. A waitress came up and immediately began chatting," If it ain't Mr. Charmer. Haven't seen you here since-,"

"Hi, Bee! Nice to see you too." Dick stated quickly.

"Mmmhmm. See you've brought a friend with you? Hmm…. That's different."

"What's so different?" Asked a curious Kori, before Dick could say anything.

"Usually, he'd have three or four. Anyways, it's a busy night. So what'll it be, doll?

Kori opened her mouth to say something.

"Two of the Bren's, please, Bee."

"Okaaaay, may not be the best way to start a night, babe. But the customer's always right. It'll be right up," said Bee before walking away.

"I could order for myself," Kori stated, quite angrily.

"I know you can, but you just have to try their shakes."

"I don't even know what's in it. I like my cocktails stirred, anyhow."

"Trust me, you'll love it," said Dick, giving off an air of mystique. "Anyways, where did I leave off on my apology?"

"You said something about being childish and an asshole."

"No, I'm sure it was "being a pain in the ass"

"Tomato, tomahto."

"Anyways... yeah. I really was. It's just that I'm not used to being alone on my own, away from people, and I was enjoying my solitude. Then, when you came along, I felt like my solitude, which I so luckily found, was being threatened. So, that's why I was going behind your back and doing all kinds of shit."

"Ahhhhhh... I'm familiar with these kind of situations."

"Huh? What kind of situations?"

"The ones that include the male pride which, ironically, the most sensitive issue one can bring up near a man."

"WHAT?!" Dick exclaimed as Bee arrived, carrying a tray high above her head and set two drinks onto the table.

"Whoa, this night isn't lookin too good for ya, sugar. What's happenin here anyways?," quipped Bee.

"I brought up," she put her hand in front of her mouth, attempting to whisper it to Bee, "the male pride."

"Oh, honey, if there's any way worst to hurt man, it's mentioning his pride."

"Told you." She directed to Dick

"No,no,no. I don't think you get me- ," He noticed Bee was still there. "Thanks Bee. By the way, you can leave now." He said through gritted teeth.

"Mmmhmm. Just don't get too high on those, ya'll hear me?" Gesturing to the drinks, chuckling as she walked away.

_Ok, be smooth Dick. Just tell her something vague, she'll leave it alone, then we can put this whole thing behind us._ "What I'm trying to say is, it's not me, it's you."

_Damnit, Dick._

"Heard that line before. Would've at least expected to hear it while I was in a relationship, though." muttered Kori as her eyes faltered, looking down to the down to the glass of suspiciously thick, murky liquid in front of her. She lifted the glass to her lips as Dick lost his sanity trying to cover up.

"NO! That came out wrong. I mean, others like you."

Her brow picked up incredulously at that.

"Wait, no, others, like you but unlike you," Dick put his head in his hands and exasperatedly moaned, "I'm sorry, am I making sense?"

"Not at all," answered Kori who seemed to have her mind intact, unlike Dick. "By the way, what is this? It's good."

"Oh, it's the house specialty. Bren's Bone Shaker. It's the best milmkshake on the block. The recipe's a secret, so nobody knows what it's made of, but its still phenomenal." Dick picked himself up long enough to take a swig at his drink.

"Milkshake, huh? I was expecting a cocktail of some kind." Said Kori, more to herself, as she continued drinking it.

"Damn, where was I?"

"You were sounding like an idiot."

"Oh yeah. I'll make it as simple as possible so that not even I could screw it up. And I'm so sorry if I sound like a chauvinistic pig, I'll understand if you want to slap me."

Kori nodded as she continued sipping her drink.

Dick went into a slight panic. _I guess the best way is to just spit it out._

"It's not issues with my male pride that led me to want you out, it's just that you're a woman. I finally found my women-free haven when you came in, being…. well, you."

Kori slammed her fist onto the bar counter. She turned away from Dick and lowered her head, hiding her face.

_Oh shit. What have I done?!_ Thought Dick, surprised by her sudden reaction.

Her body began jerking up and down.

_Oh god. She's crying. _He looked around the club to see few people eyeing and whispering about him. He turned back to Kori.

"Hey? Hello?"

Kori fingers gripped the table, hard.

"Hey. Hey….. Come on... turn around.. I'm sorry, let me try to explain myself again."

He moved to the edge of his seat and moved his face nearer hers.

"Hey. Turn around, please?"

Oh, Kori turned around all right. And the moment she did, a mouthful of milkshake spurted onto Dick's face.

With her mouth now empty, Kori then exploded into a fit of laughter.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHA

Dick wiped milkshake off his eyes and made way for the toilet. Most of the people in the club were watching and laughing at him. The rest were watching Kori in her state of uncontrollable laughter.

He reached the restroom, which was thankfully empty and splashed water onto his face, then took a paper towel to wipe his face.

_Well, wasn't expecting that._

With his face still in the paper towel, "Can you honestly admit that wasn't the least bit hilarious?" Asked a voice behind him. He spun to see Kori snickering as she leaned against the now open doorway.

"This is the male restroom." Dick crumpled the paper towel and dumped it into the bin. "You're not supposed to be in here."

"Heard that line before too. No one's in here anyways. Besides its not like there's anything I haven't seen before" She began walking back to the bar when she turned back to Dick. "You coming?"

Dick stood there, firmly in his place, partly because he was slightly disturbed by what she just said and because he wasn't going to let her get off so easily.

"Oh come on, it was funny! I'm sorry."

Dick waited.

"Oh, am I suppose to give my life story too?"

"It would make up for the milk up my nose."

_I guess it's only fair. _Thought Kori.

"Fine. One day I realized I needed a change of environment from my previous one, so I found a cheap, crappy apartment in a crappy neighbourhood where no one I knew would expect or come to find me."

"Wait. So in just one day-"

"Less than a day actually"

"In less than a day, you decided you should pack up, move out of your home, leave your job and cut off all your connections to everyone you know? Just like that? In less than a day you made a complete life change?

"Yup."

* * *

Cyborg and Bumblebee cameo! heh. Wouldn't that be fun to scream in public. Yeah..

This chap is really long. Mostly cause of all the spaces. This chap was to give you a bit more insight to Dick and Kori's thoughts and how they ended up in the same crappy building. Don't you just love it when the boy is hopeless and the girls are well-composed? Anyways, sorry if my descriptions or words arent very beautiful in this chap. I wrote it when I was sick and my brain was barely functioning. Next chap coming up soon.


	5. What's Boundaries Between Neighbours?

**Chapter 5: Crossing Boundaries to Achieve Understanding.**

"Why? I mean- how- but, what could ha- No, wait… Why?" stuttered a completely flabbergasted Dick, when they had sat back on the bar.

"I'll only answer one question which I understand." Replied a stoical Kori, in contrast to the man beside her.

"Okay…. "Dick thought deeply for a second, bringing his drink to his lips, giving him a chance to think.

_I can't believe. But, I can believe it. This girl, right in front of me, is so hardcore. She decided and was ready to leave her whole life behind her within a day. And in the same week, she'd already found a place to stay, unpacked all her stuff and found a job. Unbelievable. I mean, sure I've done some bold stuff, but those were all shameless pranks and shenanigans. Nothing so real or brutal as that. It took me a few weeks to finally decide I wanted to move out of the mansion and even longer to buck up enough courage to tell Bruce. She did it in a day without telling anyone. This girl, she's got balls, man._

"Why did you cut everyone off?" Dick stuck his lips firmly together after that. He was dying to know everything but he had to shut up in order to listen.

"Well…" Kori placed her finger on her chin as she rolled her eyes up. "One day I realized that the people around wouldn't fit into the term "friends"; they were more of backstabbing conniving snobs. They didn't like me for me, but what I could do for them, popularity and material wise. So I slashed all my ties with them and haven't turned back since. And I didn't cut off everyone. I do keep in touch with my bestest friend, but she's not here at the moment and she won't be back anytime soon. It's been… a bit tough"

"I know what its like not having your best friend by your side. Mine's not even in the country." He looked into his glass as he said, "It's tough, realizing you're surrounded by assholes and the only you can trust isn't with you. You just can't help but feel a bit small and….. lonely. You start thinking, when you step out of this group, of pricks and scum, will there be anyone to catch you if you slip up? Anyone to actually fall back on?" He rushed to take a long sip of his drink, avoiding Kori's astonished dazzling eyes. He knew what she was talking about. He'd been there. For most of his years, people have used him as a friend, hung out with him, got drunk with him, partied with him; usually cause he could pay for the drinks or he could get a limo for the whole night and that girls just seemed to revolve around him. He knew what she meant, he had been there, but he wasn't as self-reliant as she was and is. At least, he's learning to be…. He hoped.

"Yeah..." Kori glanced at the side of his face suspiciously. _He's probably the first who actually understands what I just said. Hmm.. Interesting. Let's see what there is to…. To…_

"Hey, what's your name?," questioned Kori after she leaned in to him, coming very close.

"Huh?," exclaimed Dick, surprised at how close her face was to his. She seemed to be looking at him like he was a specimen under a microscope, her eyes being the lens, closing up on him

"We've talked so much yet we haven't introduced ourselves. I don't even know your name." She couldn't help but smile, finding this amusing.

"Dick," he managed to mutter before swallowing his mouthful of milkshake.

"I want to know your name, not what's in your pants."

Dick almost choked on his drink. "Dick Grayson. That's my name."

"Oh…. You can call me Kori. Kori Anders." Kori spoke confidently, holding her hand out for him to shake.

"Then, I think for many reasons, you should call me Richard, **Kori,"** Dick told her, taking and shaking her hand, stressing on her name.

"I'll think about it, **Dick,"** she teased, squeezing his hand hard as she emphasized on the word.

Dick whimpered inwardly, as he pulled his hand away from the shake"

"So you just-"

"It's my turn to ask the question," interrupted Kori.

"Excuse m-"

"You asked a really personal first question, so its only fair if I ask the next." She continued.

"But you just did, earlier. You asked for my name," said Dick smartly.

"Oh... but... oh….. nevermind, continue…"

Dick quickly jumped back to the topic about her leaving ,"So you just left your family and your job like that too?"

_I guess might as well spill the beans, I mean I have nothing to hide. I may have been less than admirable in the past but I've grown from that. It's all behind me now. I just hope he won't be too waned by details_ .

"Well... where to begin?" She downed whatever remained in her glass. "My parents and little brother died before I was even 8 and my uncle took me and my sis in." She had just dropped the bomb. She glimpsed up to Dick, expecting his eyes to be filled with pity. She, however, did not look up to meet one. She instead saw understanding.

_What? _Was what she could ask in her mind. _He…. understands?_

She recollected herself and continued, "Sis wasn't really grateful living with the weird-war-veteran-of-an-uncle who lost an eye and was lucky enough to find a house bigger than himself," she looked away as her lips curved into a small smile, clearly laughing at an inside joke. Her smile vanished as fast as it came, "And when she was old enough, she split." She took another sip. "My uncle had to return to some war duties, but by that time I was looking for a job and old enough to find my own place. I did find a job, and a place. The job… To say it was bad would be a lie. It paid really well, had good hours, lots of travelling and was fun. After some time, I realized that I didn't like the direction it was taking me. I was getting too deep with all the crappy drama and the even crappier people. It was becoming me and I didn't like it, so one day I put it behind me with all the other crap in my life." She shrugged it off and turned her attention back to him.

"That's too bad, the job I mean. As for the family, I get what you mean … My parents died when I was barely a teen. I didn't have any siblings; neither did both of my parents. I had nowhere to go, until I was adopted by a really generous wealthy man. Unfortunately he was a man of business, not much of a warm father figure," said Dick. He gave Bee a sign, telling her to bring another order of milkshakes. "But I guess I turned out alright, or sane enough, at least." He downed the last of his drink.

_So he does understand what its like to lose family. I might've misjudged this guy._

"Your question?" He realized Kori had a soft stare fixed on him.

"Hmm.. Yeah… So.. Tell me about your "women-free haven. Why would any man even want a women-free haven in the first place. Are you gay?" she wasn't goinig to let him off the hook easy

Dick let out a laugh. "I am a perfectly straight man. And actually no perfectly straightman in his right mind would want a place without women. But, it's different for me, I mean girls were the ones coming after me. They'd chase me down the street to get a hold of me. Once, there was once a girl who stole my laundry just for keepsakes."

Bee came over with a new set of drinks.

"Weren't you the one who claimed to be sane enough? "

"Ahem… well, hear me out first. I guess I was living every man's dream, being chased by woman, being served by women, being loved by them." He noticed Kori's soft stare was forming a hard dagger. " Ahem, but of lately I've come to hate it. I mean, they're getting too… too... overwhelming. With their senseless drama and delusional fantasies and irrational desires. Now I just wish they'd have a bit more self respect." He started shaking his head. "It's okay for them to come up to me saying they want their 'happy ever after'. But, it's the fact that they don't want it with to be real or with the right person; they want it to be with me: the most popular guy or the most richest there is. It sickens me they don't know they deserve better than that." Dick turned to find Kori stupefied, her mouth hanging open, her eyebrows arched high over her wide jade eyes.

_This guy gets it. Holy crap. This man actually gets women. That's what I would call one step for man and one giant leap for mankind. He actually gets it. I can't believe I thought he was an asshole._

"Kori…. You okay?"

"Hmm? Yeah... just… nothing. Next question!"

"Okay….Um… You keep saying 'one day I realised'… So what happened on that one day that made you realise so much?

_Whoa. Never expected the conversation to take this turn. It's getting real personal. But why should it be so personal? I mean, I've gotten over it already… even if it does still hurt….I should start from the beginning, tell him everything flat out…..._

_Naaahhh…._

"Okay... good question. I came back one day from an overnight business trip to my boyfriend's apartment, which I hadn't fully moved into. We'd been together for a long time now and I thought we were in it for the long run. You know? I was really committed to our relationship. I loved him and I thought he loved me. So…"she paused for a moment to close her eyes and take a deep breath. With her eyes still closed, she went on, "I'm walking up to the room and hear some ruffling, footsteps and shouting as I'm on the steps. I walk up the stairs to the door. Before I can even open it, this tall redheaded dollface comes out with her underwear clasped in her hands. She walks past me before I could say anything. I didn't miss a thing and started packing the moment I was in my room. Did it hurt? Yes. Did I cry? Yes. The forehead and eyebrows scrunched together, displaying struggle as she brought up the memories. "I was sick of crying and sick of heartbroken, being lied to, being neglected and taken advantage. I had been through all those things, but I had never, ever been cheated on." Her eyes opened with a serious note. Her green orbs shining brilliantly in a shallow pool of tears that brimming in her eyes. "My heart was probably aching but not as much as my head. All I could think of was, why? I mean, I thought I was being a good girlfriend. I was thinking back from all our time together to the last minute. Then it hit me, harder than heartbreak, an epiphany: I was replaceable."

She turned to Dick, to see him listening intently. His azure discs, exposed and vulnerable, taking in this information with great concern. He stayed silent as his eyes remained on her, giving her his full attention.

"To the people around me, I was just a pretty face attached to a hot body. I was being looked at as a toy, being objectified as an accessory. I thought of my love life and all my failed relationships. I wasn't being properly treated by men because I wasn't treating myself properly. I depended on my latest boyfriend to take me place to place, to talk for me to order for me and to make me feel happy; depending on him to bring out the real me. When I was the one who should have been doing it myself. I thought about my job, my associates and realized I wasn't important or being a real use to anyone. I wasn't doing any good. I wasn't a human with a proper purpose in life. No one cared for my brain or anything else I had to offer generally because I wasn't a strong enough character to make anyone realise my true personality. I needed a new direction. A change. I had to get out of there. And here I am."

In his silent trance, Dick remained, absorbing all that he heard.

"I was really eager to get that crappy apartment cause it was as far away from home as possible." Kori added. She watched him. Hands over his mouth, contemplating and sorting out his thoughts.

_He's the first man to actually listen to me talk about…. Well, me. He listens and he actually genuinely cares. He's even trying his best to understand. I can't believe I just revealed everything about myself… And it was so easy. I feel such a relief, a much comfortable sense of liberation. More than I can say about anything I've received from all the other guys I've met._

"I'll go ahead and ask the next question…..."

_They went on and on like this for a long time, playing question ping pong, taking turns asking and answering questions. Time disappeared as quickly as their milkshakes. Soon they had more empty glass mugs around them than hours till they started next day._

"Hey kiddos, ain't it past your curfew?" Bee mused behind the equally stunning duo, which seemed to compliment each other very well.

"What are you talk-"

"Whoa, look at the time!" exclaimed Kori, aloowing Dick to see her watch.

"It sure is early." Was all he could say.

"We need to be at work in a couple of hours." Kori reminded him. "Oh right." Dick dumbly replied as he settled the bill.

"Thanks. I owe you one."

They exited the building and got shot in their faces with the early splashes of sunrise. Without a word spoken between the two, they stood out there, on the asphalt basking in the warm soft glow the Sun emanated. Their shadows stretched across the rubble and wreckage of mid way construction, or may it be demolition, work. Two striking figures stood motionless as the scruffs and low-lives which made up the neighbourhood began to stir. Then, when the Sun had suspended itself in the vast sky, together, these two sauntered their way back to the place they now called home. The Sun was exactly what the two deserved. After a swim in a conversation with such sentimental depth, they were entitled to come up for some fresh air. The conversation was not painful, quite the opposite; it was, however, very personal. Many things thought behind closed doors of the mind had been said and though these two may never admit it, they told more about themselves to each other than to any other person in their lives. They left with a a deeper understanding of themselves, their thoughts and each other.

* * *

This is probably the deepest chapter I ever wrote. Took me close to a week just to write it and even longer to come up with the Chap. title(s).Just know that I put a lot of thought into the title(s). I have no idea why the last para got so poetic. Meh. How do you like the back story for Kori? I tried to make her seem as strong and less whiny as I could. Dick is well... Dick. Heh. He's learning.

I have the entire story planned out in my head. Just need to put it into words. THIS STORY WILL BE COMPLETE. BELIEVE IN ME.


	6. Open Season

**Chapter 6. Open Season.**

SLAM. Click.

_Another 4 hours till I need to be in the office. Another 3 until it even opens. No use sleeping._ Dick thought as he began peeling his clothes off, revealing a set of well-defined abs, rip curling biceps and overall a very taut physique of strong muscles and little fat. A body any woman would die to be on. He hopped into the shower and for a soothing hot bath.

_Sssssttt…._

The steam filled the cubicle Dick was in. He combed his ebony hair back as he contemplated. _Kori. What a girl. I mean- she's just so.. so.. different. She's the exact opposite to me and all the other girls I've known. I can't believe I ever thought otherwise. I don't think I've ever met someone like her. She's mature, so intelligent, so fearless, so passionate, so beautiful and So.. so.. down to earth? NAHH… Kori? Humble? PSSH. Brawny. That's the word. It's unbelievable how all her feelings, her thoughts and the problems she faced, all of them, are as real as real can be. But maybe that's why I get the feeling she's casted a wall up around herself. She not te least bit naïve or d. She's not making this up for fame's sake, or vanity; not to hurt or please anyone. _He turned the handle and the water stopped. He walked out, wrapping a towel around himself._ She's just real. _

SLAM. Click.

"Mmmhhmm.. Nice to be home." Kori said aloud to no one in particular as she stepped into her apartment room. She kicked her heels off to somewhere far in the room. She twirled around the room barefoot before plopping herself down onto the couch. Flexing and stretching her toes as she thought, _Hmm.. Dick was, is, a really good listener. He's more than I ever thought he would be. I can't really say I'm not surprised. From what he told me, he seems to have lived a life that's similar to mine in many ways. Never expected to be such a down to Earth human being. He's just so naïve and childlike too. He's incredibly genuine, but he dosen't know it. Maybe he should cover up his eyes. They're really a dead giveaway for his feeling; making him vulnerable, exposed even. But then again, it shows his true side. Maybe that's why I was so comfortable to talk to him. He gave me something extremely hard to grasp around someone: reassurance. _Kori thought back to her first thoughts about him. _I guess you just really can't judge a person on first impressions._

She got up and started walking to her bathroom. Turned the shower handle as she began to disrobe. The best word to define Kori's body was statuesque. Her tall hourglass figure was well filled. Her limbs were lean and graceful, her legs long and luscious. The even tan that coated her body gave her the impression she bathed in Sunlight or the other way around. Men drooled over her body which rivaled that of a goddess, her heart-shaped face, sweeter than an angel's and her long auburn curls which were as red as her striking Friday-night stilettos and wild as her beast of a personality. And just like her wild personality, Kori's vivacious strands were tamed to attractive perfection, by being just barely so. Naturally, it fell loosely on her back, just touching the end of her gracefully arched back, but, when wet, as it was now, her long red locks straightened to reach the back of her thighs. Soon, it was time for her to get dressed.

* * *

Click. Creaaaaakkk….

Click. Creaaaaakkk….

"Well, hey there neighbor. Mighty coincidence seeing you out here this early," mused Kori in her finest 'Southern accent"

Two neighbouring doors had simultaneously opened to reveal freshly bathed, fully awake and impeccably dressed Kori Anders and Dick Grayson. The latter of which had glossy wet hair drooping on his forehead.

He combed him glossy hair backwards, attempting to style it. "Morning there, cowgirl Kori. Just thought I'd rustle up some breakfast before I start the long day."

"Well, I was 'bout to do the same. You look mighty tired. Been out the whole night I reckon."

"Someone should know. Anyhow, you wanna grab some breakfast before work? I'm too hungry to keep up a good cowboy accent."

"Yeah, sure! Any place in mind?" Kori was equally eager to get some food. She was famished.

"I have one. It's on the way to work. I'll drive."

They got went down on the lift, got to his car, having friendly chat along the way.

"Not bad huh?" Dick couldn't help but gloat modestly in response to Kori's jaw drop when they approached the car.

Kori quickly shut her mouth and tried to retain her cool. "Not bad at all." She cooed as she lightly traced her fingers over the car hood and door.

They both got in. Dick zoomed off, immediately starting their journey to wherever they were going as Kori sat comfortably in her passenger seat, paying close attention to every thing Dick did in the car.

They walked into the building with coffee and bagels. Whispers erupted the moment they entered.

_ is early!_

_He's never early._

_Who's that with him?_

_New girlfriend?_

They chatted a bit more at the front desk, before splitting up; Kori started writing down appointments and filing behind the desk, where she was stationed whereas Dick sauntered off to his office to do whatever he usually does. But even then, throughout the day, the whispers followed them.

_Who is she?_

_She's so beautiful._

_He's so handsome._

_They're both so good-looking._

_Don't they just seem to compliment each other?_

_I hope they're not dating._

It was lunch time when Dick swung by the front desk again.

"So how're you hanging on from the entire night of drinks and no sleep?" Dick spoke, trying to test her.

"Great, I'd say. Those drinks certainly didn't give me a hangover. I'm having a post sugar rush as we speak. As for the lack of sleep, what do you take me for? An 8 year-old? I can go a whole week without shut eye. " She proudly informed him. Shuffling a few papers in her hands, she asked back, " Why are you asking? She walked out from behind the desk. "Is Wonder Boy feeling schleepy? Does he need someone to read him a bedtime story?" She stuck her lips out, making a pout face as she fluttered her eyes in a sickening way before walking away from him and the desk.

HAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHA

The whispers grew louder.

_He's laughing…._

_ Mr. Grayson's laugh sounds so different._

_Did you see how she just walked away from him?_

_Yeah…. It sounds kind of… real._

_Nobody walks away from Mr. Grayson._

_Could it be that he's genuinely laughing?_

_Who is she?!_ the whispers demanded to know.

Dick was too busy laughing to hear and Kori was too busy to notice, but the whispers were audible and could be now clearly be heard discussing_, "Whatever's going on between them, it has to stop. We need to get her away from him."_ The whispers halted when they saw him jog after her. Attempting to join her for lunch, they presumed. _"As soon as possible."_

The two silently made having breakfast together a tradition. For the rest of the week, they shared a ride in Dick's car together. They walked into the building together with bagels and coffee, every morning, and would have conversations filled with laugher the rest of the day. This led the female workforce of Wayne Enterprise, Marla being discounted, to fester with annoyance and envy.

Few made attempts to pull him away from this mysterious gorgeous redhead. They, each, planned to walk up to him, head full of confidence, a stack of papers and an air of importance and state quite humbly, "Good morning . I need to discuss the upcoming Wayne Enterprise projects with you." Or at least that's what they planned to say.

All the attempts, however, failed. Terribly and almost immediately.

"Good morning . I need-"

"Oh sure, whatever, Sandy. Leave a note at my desk." Dick would cut them off mid sentence and wave of his hand dismissively before re-immersing himself into conversation with Kori.

The girl, who was never named Sandy, would always be left standing in the dust as he strolled away. Her heart crushed, plummeting from her gaping mouth to her still standing feet, her head of confidence deflated and air of significance blown away with all the other girls' futile attempts.

The days rolled on by but the heated gossip and girls stayed. They hid around corners, listening to Dick and Kori's conversation. They waited at the doors, so they could get a chance to catch and see Dick alone and hopefully not Kori. They were disappointed, though, as Kori and him were inseparable. They just always seemed to run in with each other.

_Was it all just coincidences? _All the whispers would question.

Then it came to one fortunate morning. All staff were called together for an urgent announcement. An announcement made by Bruce Wayne himself. The assembly of people blended with the hubbub myriad of whispers and murmurs.

_Is someone getting fired?_

_Will the real Bruce Wayne appear? He never comes out of his office._

_Is it something about the company?_

_Maybe he's dying!_

_Are we getting a raise?_

The clamor was broken by a single word said in a most smooth and deep voice. "Everyone….." All eyes, except one pair, turned onto the big boss, the head honcho, the man they all respected, feared and worked for: . "Thank you for coming. I'd just to inform you that Wayne Enterprise will be holding its annual Wayne Enterprise Summer Gala. This year, the Wayne Enterprise wish to make the summer ball as huge as possible along with being reminisced as the biggest and most enjoyable event in the industry. Therefore, I am please to announce that the event is open to all members of faculty and not just the higher ups. The event is this weekend and you are welcome to bring a date. I apologize that this is an extremely last minute update but we at Wayne Enterprise want the investors and clients to know the faces here in the Wayne Industry so they can feel a more warm and personal link. Of course, it is only expected that all of you arrive with your best behavior. The image of Wayne Enterprise is resting on all of you….." Bruce continued to drone on with the specific details.

Dick, who had been slacking in the back of the room, listening casually to Bruce, noticed the numerable eyes and heads that turned back to peek, stare, glance and fall on him that number of which seemed only to increase with time. He was a bit suspicious and finally understood when the girls began glossing their lips, fixing their hair, adjusting their tops, pushing up their bras and hiking up their skirts.

There was an upcoming company event tomorrow that required a date. That gave the girls a rational excuse to talk to him. To ask him out. To target him, in short. It was going to be a day of hunting for the ladies and Dick was open prey.

* * *

So.. how's this chapter? I thought I'd switch it up a little bit. I was getting bored with writing their thoughts. So I brought in the thoughts from people who saw them together. I also find it easier to write Dick's thoughts... probably cause boys generally don't think deeply or very much at all. Meh. I'm still trying to place Kori's identity so bear with me.

Believe it or not, I've already written Chapter 10 and 11. ._. I don't know why, they just came to me. Heh. I write really weirdly.

Anyways, updates will be on Wednesdays and Sundays. Why? Oh, your mom knows why.


	7. Bunny's Proposal to the Mountain Lion

**Chapter 7: The bunny's proposal to the mountain lion.**

"Dick…."

"Dick…."

"Dick!"

"HUH? What?"

"I said, are you alright?"

"Ur… yeah, of course… why wouldn't I be?" He flashed her a weak grin as he kept his hands and eyes on the steering wheel. His mouth seemed in a frown, his eyebrows scrunched in distress.

"Oh, Dick… "Kori rolled her eyes as she said it in a tone that reeked with...with... dissatisfaction?

"What?" Dick couldn't ignore the tone in her voice. "What is it?"

"Nothing. Let's stop for drinks before we go back."

Dick saw that she wasn't going to tell him anything, so he agreed.

"How bout the old place? We haven't been there in a while." Suggested Kori.

Dick shrugged as he headed to the crowded, noisy little bar. They stopped outside the place but they didn't get down. And the place was neither noisy nor crowded. It was actually closed. A huge sign was plastered on the door: UNDER CONSTRUCTION. COME BACK SOON! :)

"Well, there go the shots of tequila." Kori turned back to Dick whose head was resting on the chair while his fingers loosened his tie.

"You know what, I'm tired. How bout we just go back?" He rubbed the back of his neck as he said this. His eyes moved to hers, almost pleading with an aspect of exhaustion.

Kori observed them for a minute before saying, "Sure. Why not?"

So they drove to the building and shared a quiet elevator ride to their floor. They reached their rooms.

"Guess I'll see y-"

SLAM. Click.

Dick dropped himself onto the floor behind his door, sighing with a sense of relief.

"Pssh. Night." He heard from outside the thin cheap door, followed by turn of the doorknob and an audible "Dick."

.

Silence engulfed him then. He could finally clear up his own thoughts as he recollected the earlier happenings of the day.

The moment the briefing had adjourned, Dick made a run for it. He took off from the Board Room, where they had assembled and was about to exit the building. But that didn't stop them. The girls ambushed him, popped out from God knows where unseen and heard, cutting him off from the exit. They asked him all kinds of questions, and chased him as he took hurried steps away from them. For the entire rest of the day, girls 'bumped into him', clung onto his arms, pulled his tie and touched his face. They were worst than ever before. The girls were everywhere and even more relentless now.

The thought of having all those girls behaving the way they did today at the gala tomorrow gave him a pit in his stomach. He was incredibly turned off from going tomorrow.

_To heck with it. I'll just stay here, where none of them can find me._

But he had promised Bruce. And the last thing he wanted was to disappoint Bruce. And he had done enough of that already.

_Damnit, Bruce. _

He balanced his arms on his knees and brought his fingers to his lips.

He needed to find something that the girls couldn't get to him. Something that would repel these persistent creatures called girls. The only thing in his arsenal that he knew for certain that girls would avoid was the male restroom. But he couldn't attach a urinal on his back during the entire gala.

_What keeps girls away? _He thought hard and back to the previous days.

_Where were the girls before? They were so calm. Now that I think of it, I can't really remember seeing or hearing them until now... _He thought and thought and eventually came to the conclusion:Something made them ignore, wait no, **avoid** him.

_What was it?_

Dick's focus and train of thought was disrupted by the sound of a squeaky handle, followed by the sound of falling water splashing against tiles. Then a melodious humming.

Dick, however, was the least bit accepting of these newfound sounds.

_Bloody thin walls. Of all the times to shower. Inconsiderate neighbours._

Dick's face flipped from scrunched up with anger and conflict to wide with enlightment.

_Neighbours. _He thought.

Perhaps it was not something that gave him peace. Perhaps it was someone.

Soon it dawned him that there was one other place that could provide him with such sanctuary.

_KORI._

* * *

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK.

Dick took a step back. He shook his entire body, took a deep breath and began preparing himself mentally.

_Okay, Dick. Calm down. You just need to ask her politely if she'll come with you to the gala tomorrow. Say something about convenience. You could say how you'll show her around. She's a newbie at the office. She knows that. She'll probably be grateful and comply. What girl wouldn't?_

_But the again, she's not any girl. She's Kori. _

The door opened a crack and Kori squeezed out, shutting her door with a soft click behind her. Dick blinked profusely, baffled by the version of Kori in front of him. Dressed in a pair of loose shorts and a simple t-shirt, Kori had a purple toothbrush sticking out from her mouth. Clearly having just finished a shower, her wet hair was tied up in a messy bundle of towel on the top of her head, with the exception of a few tendrils hanging down the side of her face. Her face was the same stunning condition it always was. Her eyes remained a deepset of emerald gems.

She was dressed down, he realised. It was a massive contrast to what he saw normally; what with her shiny pump heels, her sophisticated style of high end apparel, her charismatic curls that were usually maintained in perfect neatness, just her overall superiority was not there that evening.

This was an entirely different Kori in front of him.

She was truly herself in a more relaxed manner.

"How may I help you?" was the first thing she said.

"Ahem," Dick started, giving him time to pull himself together. "I was just wondering if you were planning to go for the gala tomorrow." Dick asked a bit shakily.

_Keep it together Dick. Play it smooth._

"I basically organised the entire thing and I need to ensure everything runs smoothly. So yeah, I'll be there."

"Well, good then." He cleared his throat. "I was hoping- wait, no. Ahem... It's just that since- I mean for the sake of convenience, perhaps-….. What I'm trying to say is-" Dick just couldn't seem to phrase his words correctly.

Dick could never seem to be smooth around Kori.

"How about we go together?"

"What?!" Dick cried. "I mean. Yes. Exactly. Sure. But that doesn't mean… I was about to ask the same. You know, since you're new and all and it's your first company event, I'd show you the ropes, introduce you and all." Dick added on, smoothly as he could.

"Cut the bullshit. You need me there more than I need you."

"What would make you say that?" Dick howled disbelievingly. His eyes jumped to his shiny Italian loafers.

"You're distraught about the upcoming gala."

Dick let out a deep breathe and looked up to Kori's amazing green eyes. "Was is that obvious?" He begged to know.

"More so." Kori calmly replied. "A girl can only misunderstand so much about the way you sprinted out the Board Room earlier." She brought up her fingers as she began ticking off, "Then there was the magic disappearing act the whole day, silent car ride, the stuttering, the anxiety in your eyes and not to forget the grim face." She pulled at the bottom of her eyes and stuck her tongue out to show a ghostly expression.

Dick's lips curved into a smile, "That bad, huh?"

"One of the worst. And the fact that I witnessed the damage the entire female workforce of Wayne Enterprise was able to do after the briefing, as they hunted after you like a pack of hounds after a bunny rabbit, made it a bit more clear."

He cringed at the thought of it.

"You saw that?"

"Oh, not only did I see it. I got a real life first hand encounter with a few of the girls as they went into a frenzy chasing you. And you weren't kidding when you said girls were overwhelming." She confirmed as her mind went back to the girls that climbed over the front desk to check if Dick was hiding under there. She shook her head as she recalled sorting out all the papers they had messed up.

Dick was suddenly overcome by a wave of shame. He didn't want Kori to see him like this; being hunted down as well as seeming so weak and defenseless.

"Where'd you go anyways? The girls were downtrodden when they couldn't find you. Even after they went through a full sweep of the building. You should've seen the way they sniffed around like hounds." She couldn't help but chuckle at the memory.

"Male restroom." He told her meekly.

"Ahhhhh. I see."

"Anyhow, you don't need to do this. I mean-"

"It's ok. I get it. You need to fulfill your duties on behalf on Wayne Enterprise and make an appearance at this gala thingy on your best game, which you cannot be when girls are hot on your tracks. So you need me to be at your side in order to wane off the other females."

He couldn't help but gape like an idiot.

"Smart thinking. "She credited him, directing her toothbrush in his direction. "Nothing repels a girl better than another girl." She placed the toothbrush back in her mouth and waited for Dick to respond.

He did not.

"Anywaysh, I need ter be der a phew hourshs earlier ter help prepare schome stchuff. Sho meet me in the lobby about shaaay… Schree?"

"Uh, yeah! Sure. Schree, I mean three, it is."

She took the toothbrush out of her mouth.

"I'm on a call with someone right now, so I'll see you tomorrow." She did a little wave with her free hand as she wished him goodnight.

"Night." Dick replied as a familiar door was once again closed in his face, leaving him alone in the hallway.

* * *

Kori walked back into the room, to the bathroom to wash her mouth. Then she shook her wet head out of its entanglement before throwing the damp towel across the floor.

"Who was that? Why were you hiding from me?" A coarse voice floated gently across the room, finally reaching Kori's ears.

"Just a friend. And I wasn't hiding." Kori responded modestly as she plopped herself onto her couch that was in the middle of the unoccupied room.

"Ummm hmm…" The soft sound came up the laptop set up on the coffee table that was propped up in the middle of the impeccably arranged room.

"They're never "just a friend". What did I tell you about guys, Kor? You never listen. I was hoping you'd take better care of yourself. Especially after the last one. Did you or did you not swear off men on a call very similar to this?" Lectured the device.

"Pssh. Chill, 's just a neighbor."

"Then any reason you were hiding him from me?"

"I wasn't hiding anything."

"Oh, don't you even try to lie to me. I thought you everything you know." The voice almost gloated. From how to lie to how to read past everyone else's lies." There was a pause as Kori seemed busy with the remote which controlled the television that was not currently on.

"You closed the door, Kor. You literally shut me out. You'd only do that when it's personal. When you're interested in something you're too shy to admit. When you're going to do something real stupid and against my approval. Something like start another relationship." There was a minute of almost silence. The sound of static filled the room.

"And we're all familiar with happens next in that cycle-"

"It's **nothing** Rae." Kori cut her off flat. Her face was straight and serious, her eyes shone with a newborn sense of maturity as they gazed into the camera.

Another moment of frizzy background noise dispatched from the speaker as the two girls looked at each other's image displayed on their screen.

"Maybe you are learning." A pause as a small smile appeared on the blurry screen. "You'd usually be the one babbling about how it's different this time and how it's real this time. How he makes everything feel just so sparkly and wonderful-"

"Hey! I do not say that!" Kori objected.

"Oh really? Remember the fashion designer? The one who had the knack for bedazzling?"

"Oh shut up. That's the past. Things have changed." Kori rolled her eyes as she combed through the ends of her dripping wet hair. "Now, moving out of the past and into the future…. Your future, that is. I'm dying from curiosity about the guy that you can't stop talking about."

"What guy?" Played Rachel innocently, her eyes looking anywhere but the camera. Her blush was clearly visible from the blurry image on the screen all the same.

"Oh, I don't know… the guy whose eyes are made of the freshest olives picked from the wildest greens that lay in the deepest parts of the jungles. With a shade of green so enchanting and captivating that the only descriptions able to come close are of the magic forests you've read about only in storybooks. The one whose irises are pools of passion so deep you can't help but want to drown in them and not ever come out. Or maybe it was the other guy; the one with the smile that exuberate a warmth and passion that sends tingles down to your toes? Oh, hold up. They're the same guy, aren't they Rae? The man whose electric green embers carry hidden mischievous deeds, that give of such vivid images, so insightful that they give you shivers as they, what was that last line you wrote Raven? 'Breathe a new life into you, for not only do they see your being but also your soul'. " Kori's voice had gotten deep as she overdramatically dragged the words. "Can you still remember the sonata you emailed me? Or do you want me to read the others?" Kori flashed her a tormenting smile.

"I knew it was a bad idea to share my poetry with you." Rachel grumbled as she chafed with embarrassment, not knowing what to say.

"Oh come on, Rachie-poo! What's a girl got to do to know about the guy her best friend is head over heels for?" Kori's lips curved into a cat-like grin.

"Don't call me that. Well, if you were available for our call the week before, maybe your curiosity would have been quenched."

"I've apologized for that a million times already! I had another engagement to attend to….. Anyways tell me more!"

"What's there to tell?" Rae couldn't keep her face from lighting up in a smile.

Kori looked at her best friend she had known for years, the girl who had saved her from all kinds of dilemmas, who had taught her to be strong. "You know, Rae, I have never ever heard or seen you go crazy over a guy before. He must be real special, huh?"

"He.. is.. But you'll know soon enough. I'm coming back in about a month's time." She waited for Kori to finish her excited squeal.

"And he's coming with me."

Another girly squeal.

"I can't wait! I'll get to meet this mystery man. And I'll finally have my friend back after all those years!"

"Has your calculations and calendar reading skills deteriorated while I was gone? I knew I couldn't leave you alone. It's only been 6 months, Kor." Raven reminded her.

"Feels longer."

Raven couldn't help but laugh at her silly friend.

"Anyways, its really early here and I gotta go. The sun is just about to come up and I've got to go over a few more things. See ya next week, Kor."

See ya soon, Rae.

With that, Rachel logged off. Kori was alone once more, back to the quiet solitude she had worked so hard to earn.

_Oh Rachel… How smart she is. I don't think I could've survived until now without her by my side. People said how she was my complete opposite and I didn't belong with the likes of her. But it's the other way around. I was lucky enough to even find her. She's always been so wise, so thoughtful, so caring. She never made rash decisions, she never dated the first guy that talked to her, she didn't let anyone walk over her and she only allowed the best people in her life. She's my hero. And now she's totally flipped for a guy, whereas I'm off men. Funny how the tables have turned. , but yet, I have a date tomorrow. _She continued to think of her life. How quickly and how differently it has changed from just a few weeks ago._ Things really have changed. I've got a new job, a new place, new…. friends. . _Kori had never expected she'd use that word for anyone beside Rachel. _Dick.. Richard…. Hmm… It had a nice tone to it. Richard… He's a good guy. Sweet, a little vulnerable but sweet, overall._ Kori pressed a button_. And I have a date with him tomorrow. No, no. It's not a date. _She said to herself asthe laptop screen went black. _I don't go on dates anymore. I've changed. _

Then she caught her own reflection peering back at her: Long straight locks of sultry red tumbled messily; framing her delicate heart shaped face. Immense and enticing, a green pair of eyes darted back to her. A tender set of pink, kissable lips called to her. She saw what she had always seen and been cajoled on for her entire life. The ornament that had led her to live the life she had lived until now. A flawless face.

She shut the laptop angrily and jumped into bed, pulling the covers over herself. Kori knew deeply, though she'd like to believe it wasn't true, not everything will or can be changed.

* * *

I'm not entirely happy with this chapter... Feels kinda... below average. Especially the part when I described green eyes. It's cliche and kinda lame, I know. I'm sorry. Anyways, review if you'd like to suggest something you'd like to see in the upcoming chapters. Cause I've written some of them and they feel kind of... incomplete. Anyway, next chap may be delayed slightly by a few days. I've got some problems to sort out. Anyways, check out my oneshot "The Trump Card" ! I wrote it in a day :D


	8. Reacquaintance

**Chapter 8. Reacquainted**

Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock…

Ding!

Dick strolled into the rather unimpressive lobby, hands in his pockets, which was, as it always was, deserted. He peeked behind the counter and read the clock.

3:15

Dick was late. He glanced around the lobby, and noticed the absence of a certain redheaded neighbor of his. She's probably late too. Girls. He rolled his eyes. The amount of time they take to get ready… He leaned his back against the counter. _All to do now is-_

" !"

"Wuh!-" He whirled around to see a little man behind the counter.

"Miss Anders was here earlier. She told me to tell you that she could not wait any longer and then she left."

3:17.

"What?!" Dick yelled, confused and a bit hurt from hearing that. He looked back to the little old Asian man. Mr.Q had shrunk back behind his counter, quivering in fear; a series of "Sorry, !" was streaming from his mouth.

"Oh, um, sorry, Q. You can chill." He started pacing away, leaving the little man to collect his wits. He turned back to say a short, "Thanks, by the way."

_Oh, damn. I really screwed this up, didn't I?_ He started lecturing himself as his walk changed into a quick dash to his car.

* * *

He arrived at the place; it was impeccable, as it perpetually was and meant to be.

The Wayne Summer Mansion.

On the edge of the city, on the far South-East of Gotham, at the Gotham Cliffs. It overlooked the bay and had a terrific view. Some might even have said the bay overlooked the mansion due to its tasteful elegance of prideful wealth.

And the traffic was usually very bad on the way, but that could be easily avoided with the proper know-how of detours and shortcuts and the use of a sports car.

The black tint of Dick's Porsche 911 gleamed as it cruised past W insignia caressed on the tall looming gates made of shiny black painted metal; W for expressing it as a Wayne home as well as a wealthy one at that.

Dick's persona remained unaltered as he entered the estate.

His hands did not tremble in wonderment as he drove past the green soft grass, the hedge maze, the trees and bushes trimmed into whimsical shapes and animals.

His knees did not tremble as he exited the car and skipped up the steps to the overwhelmingly colossal main building, which stood in its noble magnificence.

His ears did not prick up to the sound of his shoes as they echoed through the outside hallways and corridors of whitewashed bricks and polished granite floors. Neither did they listen to the merry gurgling of elegant fountains placed in the outside gardens.

His lips neither smiled nor frowned as he walked under the eyes of the marble sculptures which sat tall and mighty by the ballroom's doorway entrance.

His eyes did not spin at the chandeliars and splendor of antiqueities that shone and twinkled in their opulent glory. He did not bother to glance at the tasteful tables and chairs set up in the garden, the stage at the entrance, the ice sculptures on empty tables, soon to seat the many hungry clients and guests of the Wayne Enterprise, which were clearly seen through the floor to ceiling windows.

Immune and numb to these facets around him, Dick Grayson only thought of seeing and hearing one person. Kori Anders. She deserved his apology. His heart and mind was wrapped in guilt, for being late and anxiety lest Kori might kill him. It was the second promise he held to her. One of so few that mattered to him. And not the first one he did not keep. As far as he knew Kori, she was iron-willed, intelligent, strong and….unexpected. Her reaction to this may not be what he had always faced when coming short of a request.

Maybe she'd punch him. Maybe she'd leave him. Maybe she'd cry. _Nahhh…. _Maybe she'd lose her respect for him.

Losing her respect was the last thing he wanted.

Maybe he was a coward, fearing she'd knock him into next week. Maybe he was a loner wishing to not lose a new friend. Maybe he was trying to play hero and protect the feelings of a young woman. Or maybe he was still a small boy, seeking the approval of the coolest kid on his playground. Well, whatever was going to happen or whatever he was, he just wanted to make it up to Kori. That was the biggest thing to him right now.

"Hey! Excuse me!" Dick tapped a woman he saw carrying a stack of papers.

The woman spun around, "Mr. Grayson, what are you doing here?" She peeked a glance at her watch. "And so early?"

"Is Kori here?" Dick asked, ignoring her question.

"Who?" Her faced turned unsurely.

"Ya' know. The redhead who's been working at the front desk the past couple of weeks."

The woman's face shot up in recognition, then drooped slightly, "Uh, no. I'm sorry, , but she hasn't arrived."

"Oh, thanks, then. Forget I asked." He said, walking away.

_What am I gonna do now?_

After some sulking around, he had decided to wander around the place, check out the rooms, you know, usual investigation you'd do if you were in a gorgeously enormous building. Except, Dick had been here before. When he was much younger. He and few of his social playmates played here. They ran out, hid in places, made wild fantasies about themselves in epic adventures in the spacious rooms and halls. He still roughly remembered his way around, which is really good, seeing how many mansions Dick has been in. If he recalled correctly, there were secret passages in this mansion.

He started upstairs.

He walked from room to room. Pressing against walls, stepping on floorboards, pulling out books, feeling under drawers, tilting candle holders. Nothing. He had gone through over more than half the rooms in the building and he was uncovered no secluded hideaway. He stood exasperated in a room, his coat on a dusty chair, his bowtie laid on top the little dresser and his top buttons unbuttoned. There still was over an hour to the party. He peeped his head out the doors. Nobody in the hallway. He was in the third room on the left of the staircase If he wasn't mistaken, this room had the softest mattress in the whole building.

THUMP.

Nope. Wrong room.

But the bed is still a bed.

_Might as well catch a few Zzzz's before the real snooze fest begins. _With that, he saw no reason to keep his eyes open any longer.

Don't get him wrong, Wayne Industry threw the best parties, galas and balls, with the best food, drinks, with the most famous, richest people in Gotham.

Dick loved a good party. But, he was there, not as a man in the crowd, but as the renowned ward of Bruce Wayne; he had to be on his best behavior. So the night was limited to as many drinks he could carry.

Another thing was interacting with the discomforting crowd in order to establish bonds between Wayne and their companies. To make aware the facilities, pros and benefits Wayne Enterprise had to offer. In other words, he had to be daddy's little promoter the whole night.

It was not Bruce that was the problem. He respected Bruce and loved him as a stepdad. It was all the other rich businessmen and the lower generation of social climbers they brought with them, whether it was their sons, nieces, in-laws or their cousin's godchild third removed. The kids were always brats. Spoiled, boastful, pompous, high nosed brats.

Some were barely able to speak in full sentences and others were able to recite paragraph after paragraph of Winston Churchill statements. Any ninny can do that, with the highest level of education money can pay for. But it takes a real person to know boundaries between right and wrong and do the former. And putting it simple: these kids had more dollars than sense.

He, however sadly he resented it, was part of this group too. In this part of the world, you can't cut yourself out of the circle. No. Every rich billionaire heir to empire knew one another. You just don't cut your ties with these people despite the fact that would bring much more peace to the world; you just don't, for political reason. Social politics, that is, as Bruce calls it.

HARHARHARHARHAR! Clink! Rumble, rumble. Clink! HURHURHURHUR!

_Have to give it to Wayne Industry for having a party to see how many disgusting stuck ups can fit into a room._ Kori was walking away from yet another pleasant conversation, this time with the delightful , who for most of the chat was staring down her chest, or actually up her chest, being he was so short. She'd encountered many other established businessmen and women, most of which was because she had been taken for a waitress. She wasn't even dressed like one! They did not bother to apologize, instead they **dismissed** her. Unbelievable. This is what the human race calls civilized?

From her place against the tall glass window, she could see the whole party. She looked over the crowd and noticed there were some groups of people her age hanging in cliques then there was a toddler or two running the same, unfamiliar faces.

Kori quietly hmphed to herself, in slight disappointment and took a sip of her gin and tonic.

* * *

"Groaann…." The first sound that erupted from Dick as he came to. Woken by loud laughter and rumbling, he got up from the bed, rubbing his eyes. He gave him self a quick shake, got dressed and check himself once in the mirror. He directed himself to the door, took a deep breath and twisted the doorknob, opening it a crack to the noise of the outside. Clinking, laughter, rumbling. "Meh."

* * *

_Where in hell is that boy?_ Bruce Wayne gave a warm smile and hearty laugh to the crowd of people he was entertaining. He could only stand this crowd for so much longer without Richard at his side for some support. His eyes darted around the crowd of people laughing, drinking, eating and chatting. He saw many people he wanted to introduce Richard to.

_He needs to know the dangerous people to watch out for. _His sharp eyes gazed around the room. _These people are intelligent, calculating hypocrites, taking down notes of you preparing to backstab you the moment your back is turned. They were just prodigal socialites, following whoever had the deepest pockets._ _Dick had to be careful where he turned to_. He noticed the young girls giggling to each other as they eyed the young men in the room. _And whoever._ He turned back to the circle around him joiningin the hearty laughter to a joke he already knew was lamely about the economy. His thoughts remained on his adopted son. _At the ripe age of 26, Richard is ready to have a bigger part in the Wayne industry. To take on a fitting role of responsibillity. Perhaps then it'd teach him to spend less of his time at bars and parties and take better care of himself instead of drinking down to a slurry puddle. He'd stop the meaningless flings and find a sensible girl to settle down with, to love and share his life with. _

A toddler ran in between the crowd of people, her giggling topping the hubbub, pushing past his knees. A smile appeared on the lips of the millionaire Bachelor. _Maybe even start a family_. He thought. The smile faded away as his eyes looked down to the glass of red wine in his hand. _Do all the things I wasn't lucky enough to..._

Bruce looked back up to the crowd. They were discussing the notion of inflation in the economy in the 80's and comparing it to now. His eyes wandered above the crowd. To the glass windows, to the steel balcony, to the marble staircase.

"Richard!"

The voice carried around the room. All eyes turned to the staircase, where Bruce Wayne directed. It was Dick, or as it had been exclaimed, Richard.

From her place against the window, Kori saw him freeze mid-stagger on the staircase. His hand over his mouth, covering yawn together with his mild expression of shock. Wearing what he thought to be his best pokerface, he immersed himself into the crowd, which opened and swallowed him up. Kori could see his face between the others. She watched, glass in hand, as he chatted to the crowd. He didn't seem to be doing well. Nervous laughter, avoiding eye contact, hands in his pockets, occasionally turning to the ground, rubbing the back of his neck.

She let out a low snigger before lifting the glass to her lips. "Amateur."

* * *

"Here, he is!" Bruce patted him on the back as he approached the group. "Gentlemen, you know my son, Richard." He stated rather proudly, his face beaming. After some friendly hullos, a few handshakes and a nod or two, the crowd seemed to encircle Dick, as if waiting for him to say something extraordinary.

"Richard, Bruce had been boasting to us how you moved out of Wayne Manor. Please, recount us of your latest excursions."

Oh, you can always count on to be the conversation starter. Dick turned to Bruce, throwing as many daggers as he could. Bruce gave him a meek, sorry shrug.

He could feel the eyes staring him down. His palms felt sweaty so he hid them in his pockets.

"Hahaha… ,"he chuckled shakily but stopped mid way when he realised he was the only one laughing. "No excursions really, it's just a real peaceful place.…" He cleared his throat, his eyes darting to the giggling bunch of girls passing behind him "Just a small city at the West Coast, you might know it-"

"Jump City, I believe." Mr. Jones guessed aloud, cutting him off.

Dick wasn't sure what to say next. So he looked to his shoes.

"Well, yeah. It's actually a really old, -ahem- seclusive place." He took hand out to rub the back of his neck.

The circle nodded in meager understanding, seemingly unimpressed. The crowd quickly lost interest in him and moved on to politics, excluding him completely. He stood by Bruce's side, letting his mind wander. The crowd explosded into a fit of laughter and Dick, _Richard_, obediently followed.

_Man… This crowd of stuffs really got tougher from last time. Talk about uncomfortable. _He glanced to Bruce _At least someone seems keen on the conversation._ His eyes wandered around the room. Airless, but smartly dressed. Guests were there dressed to the nines, men in their polished suits, with vests and ties; women with their extravagant fashion and elaborated jewellery.

_This was supposed to be a Goddamn casual function. _Dick couldn't help but think.

His eyes gazed some more.

Then he spotted her.

Shining like a rare stone among common rocks. Shying away in the corner. The glass reflecting her motionless expression. Her eyes, so distinct so sharp, looking at him. Beckoning him to come. Inviting him. The friendly smirk on her lips was shielded by her glass, but he could feel it welcoming him.

"Excuse me, Bruce. Something has caught my attention."

"Yeah sure, but-"

He was already walking away.

A fair young women stood alone at the glass window.. She seemed to be the destination where Richard was heading too. He auburn hair was tucked into a low bun at the bottom side of her head. A silver blazer fitted her shapely body, over a bright yellow dress that flowed above her knees. She reminded him of a floating dandelion amongst the crowd. He caught her eyes. Transfixing green globes. Her lips, posed in a sugary smirk. Richard walked up next to her and she outstretched her arms wide, saying a few words. Then something incredible happened.

Bruce saw something rare in Richard at that exact moment.

Laughter.

Genuinely, sincerely laughter. His eyes crinkled up, the ends of his mouth shot up, his body bended over. Bruce's eyes travelled back to the red headed young miss, keeping his eyes stuck on them. They continued friendly exchanges and Bruce noticed something different in Richard. He seemed to light up, he seemed excited, open. Something he rarely saw at these parties. . He sipped from his glass as the gears in his mind turned.

_Interesting…_

* * *

"Richard!" Kori set her voice in a deeper tone, her hands outstretched, imitating Bruce's earlier clamor.

He snorted at her attempt.

"What? Is it the dress?" She looked down, holding up her bright canary yellow hem. "Hm... yeah. Now that I think of it, Bruce is more of a winter than a summer."

Still no reaction from Dick.

"Can't you just see it?" Kori persisted on. "Bruce Wayne, celebrated millionaire bachelor sporting the latest Alexander McQueen."

Dick couldn't hold himself at that point. He erupted with a good robust laugh. The image of Bruce in a blue flowy gown, above the knees sent off tickles down his spine. He found himself hacking, hands holding himself on his knees.

After about a minute or so, when he had run out of steam, he took shallow breaths, looking up to a satisfied smile. When he was finally ready, he stood next to her, grinning.

"Take it." She shoved her drink into his hand. "You look like you need it more than me."

He looked to his hand, a glass of clear liquid with a slice of lime and a prominent lipstick print. He shrugged and took a helping gulp.

Just what he needed.

"Tough crowd." The words lingered between them.

"Is that a question or statement?" His eyes looked up to the , his lips going up into a one-sided smirk.

"Both." She said furtively.

He thought he'd outsmart her. "Sounded more like a statement." He peeked at her, unable to hide the humour in his voice.

"It demands an answer as well." She retorted

Letting out a puff of air, he decided he might as well tell her. "The stuffiest. I was suffocating. Still am actually." He glanced around the packed room.

"So, what happened to you earlier?" She asked, looking at him directly.

"Got held up by a call." He turned to her. "Sorry bout that. I really am." He looked in her eyes. His own filled with sincerity. She found herself slowly sinking into them. Those invigorating blue, that blurred out the rest of the world. The ones that could send pinches up anyone's spine, which shone exceptionally with such light yet faded to a dim grey with the slightest flicker of emotion.

"Kori? Hello? K-"

"RICCCHHHIIIEEEE!" A voiced bellowed behind him.

"SPEEDDYY!" Richard swiveled around to meet a tall, dashing light-red head, almost orange. His old playmate, Roy "Speedy" Harper. One of his bestest friends, from this social circle. He was always up for a challenge and a race. Roy and Richard were rivals till the end. From kids, they'd have a race to see who could run around the mansion the fastest and as they grew, their contests changed to who had most girls and in the fastest car.

Roy's father, or adoptive father, was Olly Queen: second richest man in Gotham. He and Bruce were always sparring. So you could see where the art of competition got passed down. Dick came from the victors' side in their competitions. That made Speedy, and Olly, even more desperate and competitive. But they were still good chums.

They were similar in many ways, that's why they got along so well. Egotistical, arrogant, spoiled, didn't care much for people, but more for the fun. They were peas in a pod. Were.

That is until Richard started thinking about his life and he decided he wanted to change. He realised Roy was a friend. A close friend, not a best friend. A friend Dick had grown up with through social parties, company galas and balls. In some lights, Roy was nothing more than anyone else at this party. Someone he knew and who was mutually friendly with, and probably wouldn't be, either of which, if he didn't have the money.

"Where have you been hiding, huh? Haven't heard from or about you in ages." Asked Roy, enthusiastically.

"Oh, ya' know, I've just been around." Replied Richard relaxed. They smiled at each other, glad to have met after so long. Dick spun around to Kori, quickly trying to introduce her, "Speedy, this is-"

"Kori! Never thought I'd see you again." He said, amazed, his tone spluttering with recognition.

"Me neither, Roy." Kori said the next line through gritted teeth. "Me neither." Her smile was strained across her face. "I more of hoped not to, actually." She muttered under her breath.

Roy carried on, oblivious to what she hid. "How long has it been? A year? Two? Whoa. Sure has been long, Kor."

"Oh, not nearly long enough, Roy." Her voice bleeding with scorn.

"Care for some hor' devoures, lady and gentlemen?"

Kori politely declined.

"I'm fine. Thanks, Alfred." Said Dick.

"How about you, Mr. Harper?" Alfred had placed the tray between the trio, Kori and Dick one side and Roy on the other.

Roy hummed as chose which one he wanted.

Kori turned to Dick and whispered, "You know him?

"He knows you?" Was all Dick could whisper back before Roy once again intervened.

"Seems we all know each other!" He shouted rather loudly. He went on, "Anyways, you look great, Kor." He tried sending a warm smile at her but she only flashed a forced grin in return. "There's something oddly different about you, though. I can't put my finger on it…" His face distorted into a questionable position. "Did you do something to your hair?"

"YUP! Right on the nail! You've guessed it Roy." Her tone was laughing with sarcasm. "My hair grew a few inches longer, unlike something else that will just stay too short." Her fingers were in front of her face showing a length between her thumb and forefinger, no more than a few inches.

"SOOOO, Roy, how are you finding the gala this year?" He tried his best to stir this the best way possible. Dick saw this wasn't going very well.

"RROOOYYYYY!" The trio turned to the high-pitched wail coming from…. Roy? Roy whizzed around to reveal a tall, very young, perky brunette. Stiletto heels, legs to her boobs, dress as small as the glass she was holding, which contained a little martini. Short hem and low neckline. Big hair. Cakes of make- up. She was striking, in a certain way.

"Guys, this is Cleo. She was on the cover of July's edition of S.F Magazine." Roy introduced, rather smugly.

Dick knew that magazine well. Biggest fashion magazine company in the world with the most readers. Most commercialized too. All their models seemed to fit into the 3 P's of the superficial world: Pretty, Pampered and, often as Dick would find, Pantiless. They were known as wild girls. S.F was also known for holding the most number of girls with the most issues. So the girls usually came with another P. Problems. The hottest girls had the darkest issues, Dick found.

Cleo seemed to be having trouble staying up in her heels. She leaned onto Roy, grasping the jacket of his suit blazer, tightly, though it looked more for support. "Royboy," she murmured and slurred.

"Yes, dear?" Roy asked glancing to the drunken women on his chest, after shooting Richard with a look of accomplishment.

"Could you hold these for me?" She gracefully handed her glass to him then roughly smacked her clutch into his gut. "I need to go to the ladies'. I'll be back soon" She touched his face before walking off, fumbling in her high heels, head swinging with her heels.

Roy turned back to the duo, face a slightly shamed.

"She looks like a pint of fun." Kori retorted, not caring to hide a hint of sarcasm..

"She's just enjoying the party. Which is really great by the way."

"Oh really? It's not too dull for you?" Kori pitched in, preventing Dick from saying anything. "How so?" Her eyes narrowed menacingly.

Roy fidgeted uncomfortably in his spot, his eyes darting from side to side. He cleared his throat.

* * *

"Mr. Wayne, it's about time for your speech."

"Oh, sure thing, Marla. I'll be right up."

His eyes had been so glued onto Richard and that girl. They seemed to talk to each other like best friends. Richard didn't seem to be pulling any of his moves on her, her didn't seem to be flirting. They were just talking. Her face seemed to change, though, when Harper came in. He saw her eyes roll, her face become stony, her tongue move sharply. He really didn't know who this girl was, but it seemed she had a lot to her. Whatever he did to her, must have been bad, cause she looked as if she hated his guts.

_Hell's fire has no fury to a woman's scorn._

He found himself on center stage with a mike in his hand_._

_ Let's just get this over with. _

"Evening, ladies and gentlemen!"

* * *

"This party is just the best I've ever been to…."

_Speedy, what's up with you? You seem agitated…. _

_"_The food is just great, the place is breathtaking…"

Dick's eyes travelled to the stage in the garden. He had a clear view since they were standing at a window. Bruce was up there making one of his speeches. He usually said very short and becoming few words.

Back to Speedy and Kori.

Speedy seemed so desperate for a good impression from Kori, but dosen't he know her already? Kori seemed unimpressed as he blabbered on and on, praising the function. She looked like she was winding up her uppercut. Speedy seemed to be running out of adjectives.

_Seriously, what's up with these two?_ Dick wondered.

Bruce's voice passed to his ears, "I hope all of you have been enjoying this brilliant gala." The crowd gave a enthusiastic cheer. "And I'd like to give a special thanks to the organizer, who executed this so deftly with very capable and resourceful hands," Bruce took a slight pause, glancing to Marla, who was standing off stage with a small cue card in her hands, showing the name clearly.

"Whoever organized this party is a real genius and a remarkable person." Roy commended.

"So... the organizer isn't boring, in other words?"

"Not the least bit."

"MISS KORI ANDERS." The words shouted across the party.

A spotlight fell on Kori as she turned around, waving to the crowd and flashing a dazzling smile, taking in the applause.

Roy's mouth and face seemed to have dropped. His eyes went empty and closed up, faint in hurt. He started walking away.

"Speedy-" Dick grabbed a hold of his shoulder.

"I gotta go, Rich." His face looked slightly sullen.

"Why?"

Roy peeked back at Kori as she soaked up the seconds of limelight and a few people began to buzz around her. He turned to Richard.

"One word of advice, Richie, as beautiful as she is, on the outside and in, this kitty's got some claws and a breath that could lure in a wild pack of dogs. So just don't take her for a fool.

"And you know this because..?"

Roy's eyes darted back to Kori. "I once did and I'm still regretting it."

Dick let him go and Roy walked away. The crowd of people swallowed him up.

Roy was gone. Dick turned around.

And so was Kori.

* * *

*You don't need to continue reading from here on. It's just my rant of complete utter bull, a bunch of "sorry" the constant promise to update or as most writers call it, AUTHORS NOTE:

Sorry it's late, I had real troubles coming up with the convo between Roy and Kori. They have history, you see. History, which will be revealed in the next chap! Anyways, the quick-witty banter approached me rather slowly; I had to research on the body language of the characters as well so it slowed down my progress. And you know what else is really hard to do? Describe a mansion. You wouldn't think it's hard, but you need to describe the detail, stretch the extravagance and paint a really explicit picture to define the features. If anyone were to check my Safari history…. They'd think I had a weird fetish with body language and mansion architecture. Anyways, I'm sorry! This chapter really delayed me a lot. And I've been compiling pictures for this chap and the next just so you guys can visualize the story better. Nyeheh. All in the next chap!

It was nice to include Bruce in this chap. Dosent it warm your heart how he cares so much for Dick? LOL THAT WAS DIRTY. HE CARES FOR DICK. LOOOOL. :P

Ps. Please don't think its weird how Dick just really wanted to see, talk to and apologize to Kori. Cause this was the second promise he held to Kori and he was super guilty and remorseful for breaking it. He STILL wants to be seen as someone mature, earnest and trusthworthy. Something more than a son of a millionaire. More than a player or a party goer. Something worth in her eyes. This strong, independent fierce ballsy girl. Cause in his mind, and only his, though he won't admit it, he looked up to her and wanted her approval. She was his idol. His ideal. So her thought did matter. To him the most. FYI. _Basically, if you want someone to stay by your side, you'll want to keep them happy with you as possible. And if you like them and want them to like you back, earnestly, you'll need to gain their trust, respect and you'll want them to see the best you. That's what Dick is trying to do. Just that he dosent realised what he's doing yet or why._


	9. Rush to Unmask More About Physical Charm

***CHECK OUR MY PROFILE FOR A LINK TO PICTURES ABOUT THIS FANFIC. CASTS/CLOTHES ETC.**

**Chapter 9. Rushing to Unmask More About Physical Charm.**

He walked straight to out of the building, to the front veranda parking, where his car was.

"Took you long enough." A voice sang across him.

A delicate yellow flower was leaning against his car hood with a small smile that was pleased to see him. She held a glass of champagne in her hand.

"Wuh?-"

"You were right. That room was suffocating me too."

"But then-"

"Just get in." Kori drank her champagne in one shot and put the glass on the bottom of the stone pillar then walked over to the driver's side.

"You seem to be forgetting that you need-"

"These?" She said, holding up his car keys in her hands.

"How did-"

"I have my ways." She closed the door with a light 'tck' after getting in. She looked to Dick. "You coming?"

Walking closer to the car, he challenged ,"You don't even know how to drive a sports car-"

"Try me." She stopped him.

"Where would you even go?"

"Somewhere…" She said dreamlike, her eyes moved to the gates. "So?" Her eyes shone back at him mischievously.

Slightly reluctant, he gave in, planting his trust into Kori's deep pools of exquisite green.

He jumped into the car. "Let's go."

The engine roared to life and purred like a kitten. Her feet smoothly pushed onto the acceleration pad, or at least as smoothly as a landslide, and just as heavily.

VROOM!

Kori sped off faster than Dick ever has, switching gears like a pro, handling the steering wheel as if it was child's toy. Dick braced himself in his seat, hands gripping the arm res and door as strongly as he could. His face was blown back by the wind which Kori was going against all too forcefully.

He peeked at Kori. She was having a blast. Wind had blown her meek bun away and her curls were flying madly in the wind. At that moment he was not sure which was more terrifying and death threatening: Kori or her driving skills.

Suddenly, she hit the brake then twisted the steering wheel.

Dick silently began praying to a God he never believed in.

SCREEEECCCHHH. Thump.

That was the sound of the car, an inch from overturning and toppling onto the ground, dipping gently back onto the ground on all four wheels. The wild engine had fallen into a silent slumber as Kori took out the key.

"How's that for driving a sports car?"

Dick had closed his eyes when he felt the car tilt. Dick opened his eyes to see his hands gripping the armrests tightly; his torso had sunken low into the seat. His feet were stretched in front of him, to the small interior wall of the passenger area to steady himself against.

"Not-t-t too bad, I g-guess. If you want your passenger to get whiplashed!"

Dick slowly pulled his trembling fingers and feet from their braced positions. He relaxed his body and prepared to open the door when he peeked back to Kori. She had bent down to her knees Her head and arms were under the steering wheel.

Curious, Dick leaned over to her. He tried to glimpse at what she was doing. He got in closer.

"Hey-"

PAK.

"Ouch." Kori was up again and she was rubbing her forehead. Her face pinched up with slight soreness.

"Owwhhaa.." Dick was rotating and rubbing his bottom jaw.

"You okay?" Kori asked, face full of concern, her hands moving up to Dick's chin.

"I'm," He circled his jaw one last time. "fine".

A dark oval shape had surfaced in front of him. Kori seemed to be examining his injury and her forehead was at his eye level.

She was just inches away from him. He could smell her perfume. Her frantic curls were in his face. Her shampoo was delicious. At his angle, he could only see until the bridge of her nose. From his view, he could also see how long and luscious her eyelashes were and how dark red each individual lash was. Her eyebrows were finely arched and as red as her hair and lashes.

_Such a bizarre red…_

Her hands grabbed a hold of the sides of his jaw and she pivoted his head from left to right. Then back ahead again. She moved back up so they shared the same eye-level.

He was just inches away from her. The first that caught her attention was his eyes, such a piercing tone of blue. They seemed lighter now, reflecting bits of pain and surrealism. He had a very strong and distinct jaw line. His hair was ruffled badly but in a very nice way almost… sexy. His deodorant was horrible but his breath was actually really pleasing. It smelled like minty toothpaste with a hint of gin. His teeth seemed flawless: white, pearly and straight. This guy's the ideal model for Colgate.

_Actually, he'd be a perfect model for anything….He looks...just so... perfect.. If it weren't for that bruise. _

That bruise that popped out on the bottom edge of his chin. That bruise that Kori had caused… That bruise….

_Could a shade that red and intense even exis-_

That bruise kept picking at her...

"OW! "Dick recoiled away from her. "Why'd you flick it?!"

"Couldn't help myself. It's so purple and bumpy."

"Wuh-!"

"Come on. Lets get out."

Slam.

Slam.

Both doors, passenger and driver slammed to a shut.

Stepping out, Dick took a step back to inspect the car, to make sure there were no damages, no scratches, no dents… when suddenly it dawned on him.

"Holy fu-"

"Hope you don't mind I paralleled parked." Shouted Kori, who was walking up a little green hill, barefooted.

Dick stood there, slightly dumbfounded, in front of his Porsche 911. His sports car, his baby, was driven so brutally by this mad woman to remote place with who knows what kind of filth. It came close to collapsing onto its side. This very car, was parallel parked neatly by the edge of a manmade trail, at a bottom of the hill in God knows where by the very mad woman.

Totally unconceivable.

He looked up to find that mad woman. She was already on top of the hill.

He dashed up the hill to see Kori sitting there cross-legged, looking out onto the bay in its soft orange hue. The Sun hung low in the sky, slightly above the horizon.

Dick sat down next to her. His mind reeled about the day.

"Quite a party huh?"

"Yeah, I'll say. The guests were a real delight." She said monotonously.

They looked ahead to the evening sky, enjoying the warmth of the end of the day and the cool light breeze.

She turned to him.

"Were all of those people really your friends?"

"Well….I spend time with them." Which was not a lie. He did spend time with them… when he had to.

"No wonder you came looking for me." She started taking off her jacket, to reveal a strapless yellow dress. It was a bit stiff at the bust, tied in the middle with a silver ribbon and fell down in light ruffles from her waist. She looked so refreshing. Dick smiled before he turned back ahead.

"I wouldn't say I came looking for you…"

"Richard Grayson." She said with a hint of laughter. "Don't you remember last night how you came knocking on my door, begging me to come with you tonight?"

"Richard Grayson does not beg," He stated clearly. "he charms." He added the last bit with a smirk.

"HAHAHA! Oh sure! I bet you get all the girls with your stuttering suave and your quivering essence of cool."

"You're different. You're not like the other girls." He answered honestly.

Kori turned away, hiding a small blush on her cheeks. She took that as a compliment.

"So, Dick Charming," Her tone started with a light pinch and grew slightly more sober as she asked on a tighter note, "where was your charm earlier during the party?"

He didn't answer. Dick's palms were getting sweaty again. He put them into his pockets and started focusing on the flowers near his shoes.

_I'll have to take another approach._

"Dick, what are you doing?"

Dick looked her in the eyes, his young bright blue angled to her mature shining green. "Nothing…?"

"Then what are you suppose to do?"

"What do you mean?"

"What do you do?" Kori persisted.

Dick just stared at her, not fully aware what she was getting at.

"You work in this big multinational corporate business under your stepfather who owns the industry. You come to the office every morning, you sit in on every meeting and you have your own office. So… what do you do? Are you supposed to push figures? To file documents? To write reports? I mean, what's your involvement in this company?"

Dick got silent for a moment. His face fell down; eyes that were growing dark were hidden under his dark locks of hair. He brought his fingers up to his forehead to rub his temples. A deep breath and sigh, he muttered, "I don't know. I'm just a face…the next face of the company."

"Tell me about it."

He looked up, his eyes glistening as it reflected the now dark purple of the sky. "I've being groomed to take over Bruce's place since I could remember. 'To run the Wayne enterprise, oh what an honour!' I've been told. But actually, the whole company runs itself already. I'll just be the face everyone recognizes as Bruce Wayne's adoptive kid. People will look at my face and just go "Hey! It's what his face. You know, the one that took over the multinational corporate business company from brilliant Bruce Wayne?" He took a short pause. "I'm not a businessman. I'm not an accountant. I'm not a proper Chief Executive. I'm not a boss. I'm not an employee. I'm barely even a decent son. I'm just a face. Nothing more. So I have no idea what I'm supposed to do when I come face-to-face with these big business tycoons. I don't give a shit about politics or the economy or have any how on how to run a company."

Dick released a puff of breath.

Did he really just say all of that? He had never said that to anyone. He hadn't even thought about it to himself. He didn't even know that he felt half those things.

"I think I could do better actually. If I only knew where to start." He whispered more to himself.

"You're a terrible liar."

"Excuse me?"

"You heard me. You can't seem to keep yourself composed either. You need to be faster and more alert."

"I am alert!"

"You wear your heart on your sleeve too."

"What?! Am I a character on Gossip Girl or something?"

"No. You're the next face of Wayne Enterprise. So you'll need to at least have a good poker face."

"My poker face is good."

"A good poker face is one with focused eyes which maintains **eye contact**," She reached over and pulled his face to look at her, as she did in the car. She let go and continued as she kept stable eye contact, "a fixed pair of eyebrows and relaxed lips. If you're just going to live your life being just a face, you need to at least be capable of manipulating your face to your advantage." She said the last line sternly.

"Manipulate? What I am? A criminal thief going for questioning?"

"Close, but no. You'll be apart of the business world. You've got to be cut throat, decisive and intelligent."

Dick didn't know if what she had just said was true so he joked, "What happened to using words to solve problems?" But she was not joking the least bit.

"No use in having persuasive words with an unconfident face. And sometimes, your voice, tone and words can betray you easier and quicker than your face."

Dick sat quietly in the grass, digesting what she was saying. His eyes concentrating on hers as she spoke.

The cool air hit their faces, her hair billowed in the wind. The cool wind which just happened to be getting stronger…

"You see, your face can intimidate, encourage and coax." She listed off her fingers. She bored her eyes into Dick's, tensed her eyebrows and frowned her lips, making him back away slightly. His face clearly showed fear, like that on a mouse being cornered by a cat.

"You have the advantage with all three." She relaxed her face, put her lips into a smile, making her eyes friendly. His body immediately sat up more right, his face recovering from the fright and into a smile.

Then, she leaned into him, putting her lips close to his ears, as she whispered sultrily, "In other words, you need good control over your face." She leaned away from him, he seemed like in a trance, his abstract blue concentrating on her, his hands relaxed and senses slighty… distracted. Senses of which perked up when she slapped his cheek lightly and saw his wallet dangling in front of his face from Kori's fingers.

"How-"

"Art of distraction. You need to know how to work the crowd to get what you want."

"You seem awfully good at-"

"Then there's body language."

Can't I just get one full sentence in-

"And not to forget your eyes."

"My eyes?"

"Your eyes particularly."

"What's wrong with my eyes?"

"They're dead giveaways. Right now, I know exactly what you're feeling and thinking and can predict what you're going to do or want to do. The business world is dangerous and full of conniving bastards. You can't go in with an easily readable face. They'll shear you for all you have then dump you aside for fresh meat."

Dick seemed slightly taken aback and afraid of how serious and dark Kori had gotten. Everything she has said was true. But it was still scary hearing it, especially with the lightning behind her. Wait… Lightning?

"And one last thing."

BOOOMCRAAACCKK.

A roll of thunder came in, covering whatever Kori said.

"What's that?" Dick tried to ask.

Pat. Pit. Pat. Pit

Dick and Kori looked up. Raindrops were falling down in a drizzle and from the rate it was going, it'd be a heavy downpour within a few seconds. Dick looked to Kori.

Time seemed to have stopped.

He couldn't feel the cold drops of rain anymore; instead, he felt the warm smile on her lips. The pattering of droplets and rustling of leaves entered his ears as fuzz, vanishing under the tunes of her laughter. The smell of rain and wet grass faded under the fragrance of her perfume, her shampoo…. Her. Colours of the evening that were so vivid a minute ago paled in comparison to rich flushed locks, her sandy tan and the yellow dress, clinging to her body. The Sun was disappearing, dropping below the horizon but the light remained radiating, even livelier than before.

"GYAHK-"

Someone had yanked his shirt from the back, and was dragging him down the hill. That someone was of course, Kori.

"Dick! Did you forget we came in your convertible?"

That felt like a slap in the face. A slap he needed. He was aware of the situation now and ran down the hill, he jumped in over the passenger's door and put up the roof.

"Phew!"He leaned his head back and closed his eyes as the car zoomed off, the patter of rain on the rain made a nice lullaby.

_What a day... _He thought.

When he opened his eyes, they were back at the mansion.

Kori was looking at him. "Do we really need to go back in?"

"Yeah. " Dick looked to her. Her hair was now twisted neatly in a braid by the side of her neck.

She let out a heavy breath. "Okay then." She shrugged and got out of the car with her jacket.

"Oh, what was that last thing you said?" Dick asked over the car roof.

With a tease on her face, she responded quaintly, "Punctuality."

They both were resting their arms on the damp car roof at this point. Kori took a quick check and asked, "Don't you have a watch?"

"Oh I have dozens." Dick simply answered.

"And yet..?" Her eyes never leaving his.

"I never saw the use in wearing one." He closed the door shut.

"The notion of punctuality has never once crossed your mind?" Her eyes sparkled with inquiring vex.

"Nah. Everyone usually waits for me." He called over the car roof.

"Huh." Was all he heard in reply as she walked up the steps.

Dick laughed a little to himself. _How could I forget?_

He raced up to Kori's side. She smiled, not directly at him but smiled the same. He smiled to himself as well, letting himself be overcome by a sense of warmth. They walked into the building, chatting merrily on the way and joking. Their laugh echoing through the empty corridor.

_Kori isn't like everyone else._

* * *

How's the uninterrupted Kori/Dick time? Heh. Did you enjoy reading it as much as I did writing it? The only thing i'm not satisfied about is the title. I had no idea what to name this chap so i wrote a few words down about what I saw this chap was about and strung it together to make a sentence. Heh. It kinda makes sense?

Weeee~ It's 4am here. Nyeheh. Anyways, I know I promised Roy/Kori's backstory here. But I thought I'd be better suited in the next chap. HEHEHEHE. Oh, have i a lot to write about in the next chap,so it'll take a bit longer. HEHEHEH. Anyways, If you **go to my profile, there's a link to my tumblr page with pictures FOR this fanfic! An author's cut! Check it out for the ultimate visual experience to this story! :D** Ps, thanks for all the reviews! I really appreciate them! I'll try to finish the next chap in time!


	10. Behind Closed Doors

**CHAPTER 10: Behind closed doors.**

His face scrunched up as he wiped his nose unforgivingly on his sleeve. A shiver ran through his body. He was about to drop onto the floor when there was a rap on the door.

Knock! Knock! Knock! Knock!

Dragging his feet listlessly, he went and opened the door with anything but enthusiasm.

An effervescent Kori Anders leaned against the open doorframe, idly checking her nails.

"Really?" Kori asked incredulously, her face highly amused.

Dick gave a weak shrug in reply, unsure of what she was on about. His eyelids drooped as Kori rolled her eyes and barged into his apartment as if she owned the place, pushing Dick aside gently. She halted after few steps. She gazed down to see her bare feet amidst a disorderly sea of scattered leather shoes.

Her eyes continued to roam the shabby room. Its floor overloaded with a collection of stacked, upturned and unopened boxes. The walls remained plain with its dull, cut-rate wallpaper. There were no chairs, neither tables nor any other kind of furniture but a little box of a television that sat sadly on a stool in the corner. It's black empty screen reflected ajar cupboard doors, which revealed a neat hanging array of shirts, jackets and pants. With a turn of her face and a slight dread from the pit of her stomach, she peeked past the bathroom door. She let out a breath of relief, that was covered partially by a smidge of amazement, when she saw how impeccably clean the bathroom and sink was. Turning back ahead, her eyes caught onto an assembled heap of rags, towels and blankets on a king-sized mattress and a couple of strewn crumpled pillows. This uncombed clutter posed as the center of the place, which would otherwise denote as a pigsty.

She whizzed her body back to him and once again asked, "Really?"

He shrugged once more.

As she took a deep breath and her nose picked up a foul scent of rotting food. Her face screwed up with displeasure. "This cannot do." She muttered under her breath as she made her way out the door. On the way, she grabbed Dick by the collar of his bathrobe and pulled him out of his room, and into hers.

Click.

Click.

Both doors clicked softly to a close. Now both Kori and Dick were behind closed doors, or more accurately, the same closed door.

And you can never expect what opportunities may open behind closed doors.

* * *

Dick's watery eyes widened at the sight of the room before him. Kori pulled him away from his depressing dump of a room and into her own, more pleasant room, which was tremendously far from what would be called a dump.

His toes curled up, as his eyes relaxed on the pearly white painted walls, clenching the soft velvety carpet beneath his feet. He took slow strides, passing the doorway, into the larger living space. The same dark purple carpet stretched to the rest of the apartment, and Dick couldn't help but let out a low hushed whistle as his eyes landed on the classy glass coffee table, the beanbag and the large settee; all of which sat promptly in front of the enormous flat screen tv that was suspended on the wall.

He found himself sitting back on the classy leather couch. He couldn't believe anything could be this comfortable. This entire place felt so cozy, so comfy, so much like home. He rested his heavy head on the backrest and closed his puffy eyelids. But after a few seconds, his eyes shot open, up to the chandelier lighting above him. Turning his head left then right, he couldn't help but notice how it matched nicely with the other statues and decorative ornaments in the room. He let out a cough.

"Here."

He seemed startled to see her. Heck, this is her apartment.

"What's this? He asked, his voice was high-pitched and squeaky. He tried clearing his throat but it didn't really do any good.

"Hot tea with a slice of lemon and some aspirin." Kori placed the mug and tablet on the table in front of him.

"What for?" He cleared his throat again, the phlegm and dryness clearly audible.

"You're sick, if you didn't notice." She plainly replied.

He stubbornly denied, "No, I'm not". His soggy red nose turned away from her.

"Then can you please explain to me what were those horrendous noises coming from your room the entire morning." She watched the side of his pale face as he sniffled. A frown made its way onto his very handsome face.

"I have a mouse problem." He coughed out.

"Reeeeaaalllly….?" She dragged the syllables as long as they could go. Her face shaped in full disbelief. _This boy is just full of_ it...She thought to herself, inwardly chuckling.

"Yeah," He turned back to her. "You should see the size of them." He held up his hands in front of his face, far apart from each other so that they were about the size of a puppy. Between his hands, his dull, cloudy blue eyes saw straight into a pair of bright green, that sparkled in amusement. The small smile on her tanned face gleamed contentedly in the morning sun coming in from the windows.

"Did these rodents have the flu for any reason?" Those lips uttered.

"Whu-wha-ah-CHOO!" He sneezed into the sleeve of his bathrobe and muttered a muffled "No….."

"Hmmmmmm…." her eyebrows cocked up at him accusingly.

"I don't have the flu. I'm as healthy as ah-ahk-ah….. horse…"

"A horse with the flu."

With a grunt, he asked, "Why am I here again?"

"Cause you're sick." She answered.

"No, I'm not." He insisted.

She let out a sigh before saying, "Shut up and just let me take care of you." She grabbed a tissue from the box on the table and set it front of his face.

From behind the tissue, he could be heard arguing, "I can take care of myself back in my own apartment."

"Not from what I saw."

He waved her had away and called over his shoulder, "But-"

"No buts, she stopped him. "You have no furniture."

_Here we go with the fingers, again.,…_ He thought.

"Who needs furniture?" He quarreled over his arms.

"No bed?" Her voice cool and to the point.

"I have a mattress," He claimed.

"No food." She pointed out.

"There's food." He debated.

"No edible food." She emphasised.

He reluctantly admitted, "You have a point there."

"It's a filthy mess." She listed off.

"I don't have time to clean!" He cried.

"You're still in you're bathrobe." She stated.

"I don't see what's wrong with this." He looked down to his bathrobe, grumbling.

"It's not hygienic. Have you washed it?" She poked.

"Well.. "

"How long have you been wearing it?"

"The whole night..?" He mention sheepishly.

"That's why it needs to come off."

"What?"

"It's dirty," She directed to the sleeve which he had earlier sneezed in. "It's stained," her finger pointed to the smear of blue toothpaste on it, "it's been slept it and you need to recover. Frankly, I'm fed up of hearing your "CHOO" every few minutes. It's driving me insane."

He stared blankly at her, not moving; not removing his bathrobe as Kori saw it.

"Take it off." She nodded calmly to him.

"What if I don't?" He snarled back.

"It won't do you any good and you won't recover," her hand reached out to him.

"No!" He turned away from her; hands pulled the collar around him more tightly.

"Come on, stop being a brat." She leaned over him, stretching her fingers.

"Get away." He called over his shoulder.

"You're sick and that bathrobe is far from hygienic."

He didn't reply, instead he slid further away from her on the couch.

She slid closer then got her knees onto the couch.

He edged further.

She crawled closer.

"I'm fine. Really." He ensured. Curled up in a ball now, he was at the armrest of the chair. Facing away from her.

"No, you're not. Just take it off." She was next to him now and she stretched her arms around him, reaching for the tie-strings.

"No!" He twisted around to get her off him.

He was putting quite a struggle, so she moved one of her knees aside in order to balance herself. She wasn't going to let this go so easily. She couldn't sit by the sidelines as the people around her were suffering some sickness. Whenever she heard or saw one, her natural caregiver instinct came over. He needed to get better and she was going to get him there by the skin of her teeth.

Every time she reached out, he would grab a hold of her hands. He would twist and turn at every movement she made; slowly, he started sinking lower into the chair.

He grabbed one of her hands catching it just above his waist and pinned it to the backrest of the chair. She put her other hand on the armrest next to where his head had slumped to.

"Let me wear the bathrobe." He begged.

"Why?! You'll never get better that way." Quick as lightning, her hand on the armrest leaped to his waist.

He was about to grab it but he was too slow and she pulled on the string.

The soft towel-like coat split open, revealing a very naked chest that was rising and dropping in heavy, shallow breaths. Her eyes couldn't help as they dropped down to his rippling abdominal muscles that were tightened under her gaze. Her pupils ran over every curve and bump, every shining part of exposed lean flesh. The edges of her lips jumped into a very happy smirk. She did not stop. Her green orbs traced the very defined pelvic line that ran from the sides of his frame into low cut dark blue elastic that stopped at just the right, perhaps wrong, place.

"Oh. So, that's why." She murmured softly as Dick continued breathed heavily under her. Her hand gripped the side of the cushion tightly. Her fingers digging into the rich leather. He sniffled slightly as he waited. Waited for her to do something. To say something or to at least get off of him.

But Kori did not do anything. She did not say anything. She did not move from her very…compromising position. Her knees stayed widely positioned by the side of his hips while her bum sat comfortably on his thighs. Her left hand was gripping the edge of the cushion as well as the end of his robe's tie string.

"Um…"He tried clearing his throat. "Kori?"

"Yes?" She replied ever coolly and sweetly, her eyes never leaving his body.

"Are you going to get off me?"

"Huh?" She looked up from her trance, realizing the position they were in.

"Depends," her lips curled into a dangerous smirk."Are you going to let go of my hand?"

He turned his watery blue to above his head. His hand was clasping onto hers, sticking it to the backrest. He had not grabbed her wrist, during the struggle he had instead grabbed onto the hand itself and his fingers were hugging her palm to the backrest.

"Oh, yeah. Ahem."

He released her hand.

And after one last scan and a flash of a quick smirk, Kori removed herself off him stepping few paces away from the couch.

She brushed her oversized off shoulder top and her shorts. She kept her eyes away, hands on her back, waiting for Dick to compose himself. He did more than that for she heard soft thuds of footsteps. There was clearing of a very congested throat. Then a creak of an opening door. She called to him just before he put his foot out.

Not turning back but instead, rolling playfully on her feet, she said, "So…briefs, huh?"

He slammed the door on his way out.

* * *

Oh yay! I like how this turned out. Felt really unsure about writing this, I was trying so hard to capture the scene and emotion, but I just wrote and it turned out fine. Did anyone else get a kind of Beast Boy/Raven kind feel? I dunno, I did. Hmm.. Gives me an idea... You'll just wait and see! :p

All of you should listen to Swedish House Mafia. All of you. I mean it.

I know I promised a lot of deep meaningful revelation, but I think I'll save it for the next chap this chap was just too amusingly playful to intertwine such deep secrets. HEHE. Check out my profile for a link to see the link to my author's cut on this story! :D

The next chap is going to be a challenge so please have patience! OHOHOH, There's a sequel to my oneshot of BB/Rae! :) It's called "Wild Card."


	11. Matters of the Heart

**Chapter 11: Matters of the heart.**

Click. Creeeeaaak. Click.

"So you came back." Kori turned around on her leather couch resting her head against headrest, letting her hair drape over the rear of the sofa. She eyed her visitor with a cheeky smirk. This time, properly dressed in sweat pants and a hoodie, Dick Grayson stood sniffling at the doorway in a, more than accustomed to, humble and shy manner.

"Well, you were right about a few things." He rubbed the back of his neck, looking to his feet. "My room is no condition for recovery." In actual fact, he didn't want to stay in his room at all. Surrounded by his lonesome, walled behind his mess. He wanted to be within the doors next to him. Where it was comfy, warm, and… beautiful.

"I'm glad that you've managed to see past your stubbornness." She lifted a mug to her lips.

"So… is it okay if I stay here?"

"Of course. Come here." She aloofly replied, setting her mug down on the table, next to his. He shuffled, dragging his feet over her velvety carpet to the couch. The place for him looked so welcoming. His mug sat there, waiting to be picked up, in front of a gorgeous girl who seemed to be examining him head to toe very thoroughly with a grin on her lips. A grin you'd see on a cat that has its prey cornered, just before it goes in for the kill. Ignoring it, he plopped down on the comfy couch.

And the moment he did so, Kori jumped up and ran off.

Before Dick could even open his mouth, a mountain fell on him -a mountain of blankets that is. Kori had come back with a bunch of blankets in her arms, she dumped them onto him.

There was a muffled yell before his head came up.

Kori's hand shot to his forehead then to his neck. "Is your throat itchy? Do you have a headache? Is your nose stuffed up? How many fingers am I holding up?"

"Uh n-"

She disappeared again, this time coming back with dozen pillows, dumping them onto him.

"Comfy?"

He blinked, expecting her to vanish again, but she stood next to him, eyes wide with concern and interest.

"Yea-"

She furrowed her eyebrows, "Oh, there's one mor-"

Dick grabbed her hand just as she turned away and pulled her down onto the chair.

"Kori."

She began, "What are yo-"

"Kori."

"I need to get you som-"

"Kori."

"But you-"

"KORI."

She shut her lips.

"It's just a mild cold."

"Bu-"

He placed a finger on her lips.

"Kori, I'm fine." He assured her. He stacked his hands on hers, upon her knees.

"If you're sure…" She said hesitantly, biting on the edge of her lips, her eyes blinking in slight worry.

"Yes. I couldn't be any better right now." He gave her a warm smile, which she warmly returned. He sat on the couch next to her and realised it was her that was so warm. She radiated heat, her presence was comforting. And she was just beautiful. "You know, you don't need to trouble yourself so much."

"It's not a trouble…" She rolled her eyes up, biting the entire bottom of her lip. "It's more of a pleasure…" Her eyes settled back down onto his torso, which could be seen peeking out from the top of his hoodie zipper that was only up to half his body.

His eyes followed hers and he abruptly let go of her hands, removing them of her knee.

She let out of breath and relaxed back onto the chair. There was a slight moment of awkward silence for a minute as Kori sifted through her thoughts.

_What shall we do now? Kori knew there were many answers to that question, but she blocked them out. Kori, get a hold of yourself. You're being reduced to a bubbling pool of girly hormones. You've been through too much to fall this hard for a guy again. You're stronger than this. You have a stronger resistance. You deserve a perfect guy. What makes him so special? So what if he has the most defined set of hard washboard abs you've ever seen... with its curves and bends... and deep lines that make you want to run your hands over all day and everyday…? UGH. Stop it. And stop thinking of his really… really... nice, broad shoulders and strong chest and that… that… obvious pelvic line that just.. just... makes you want to.. to… STOP IT. Stop thinking about his body. Don't even try to think about his face… with the really strong jawline and soft lips that curl into the cutest lopsided embarrassed smile and.. and.. those perfect white teeth that sparkle when he smiles… and those twinkling blue eyes, so beautifully hypnotic that tingles are sent down your back as you feel yourself slipping into them…. _

_Damnit Kori. _

_He's your neighbor. Your friend. He's.. he's your boss…. in some way. But, he's the bestest friend you've had, besides Raven, and who listens to you, treats you courteously and came back to you on a Sunday morning, fully clothed, remember that, in his hoodie and sweat pants… A zipper hoodie… That's zipped really low… So temptingly low…. And drawstring pants that could open easily with just a tug- STOP. If you rip his clothes off, you can never go back to friends… You need to keep your cool to keep him. Especially after that very comfortable position you were in, no, I mean compatible, I mean- CRAP. _

Kori was not thinking when she dragged him into her room. She just felt the urge to take care of him and make him feel better. And now, consequently she couldn't stop thinking.

She scrunched up her eyes and brows and put her fingers on the sides of her head.

"Hey, you okay?" He asked. There was a ruffle of sound as he leaned over the pile of blankets on his lap.

_Okay? She was as far away from okay as possible. She was at a dangerous war with two sides of herself, one that wanted to break the zip on his jacket and the other that was strategising a way to loosen the string on his pants in the quickest preference. The dangerous part was that she wasn't sure which side she didn't want to be on first._

_"_Kori?"

_Crap. Think of something. Think of something. _

"Hello?"

She could feel his warm, stuffy breath on her cheek as his words prodded at her mind. His face was inching closer to her.

_THINK OF SOMETHINGGGGG…. Stop being such a dirty pervert. He's too close. You can practically smell him... and….. why does he smell so good? Stop it, Kori. Think of something quick. _

"K-"

"I'm sorry." She whipped her head around. Their noses were less than an inch away.

His eyes like gazing upon her like two big blue seas, of confused yet calm clear water.

"What?" He asked dumbly.

"I'm sorry. For being so pushy, for dragging you all the way here on a Sunday morning, for fussing over you so much," She turned her head down as she tried to hide her blushing cheeks. "and for gawking at you while we were in –ahem- a very compat- compromising position."

He couldn't believe his ears for a second. Sure, they were slightly stuffed up but could she really be saying what he thought he heard?

"It's fine." He tried to say.

"No, it's not."

He continued looking into her eyes. They reflected bits of eagerness and desire to show affection as well as sorrow.

"I'm perfectly happy to be here with you. His lips pulled into that oh-so kissable lopsided grin. "It's much better now that I'm fully clothed."

Kori rolled her eyes_. "_Not much better for me…." She murmured under her breath turning away slightly.

"What?"

"What?"

_What was I saying? Control yourself, Kori. Control. Control. Control._

There was a short silence between them as Kori urged to fight off her inner demons. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

After a minute, he broke the silence. "Hey Kori, if you don't mind me asking…."

"Mmmm?" She asked with eyes still closed.

"What's up with all the eye closing and deep breathing? Am I that boring that you can't fight the urge to sleep?"

Her lips went up in a small smile. "No, you're not that boring." She opened one eye to peek at him. "Its meditation."

She continued when he didn't say anything, "Meditation is the practice of focusing your attention to help you feel calm and give you a clear awareness. It gives you a stronger sense of self control."

"Psssh. I know what meditation is, but why do you do it?"

"Inner peace."

She could feel one of his eyebrow jump as he repeated in a questionable tone, "Inner peace?" He repeated.

"Yup! My best friend influenced me to take it up. She told me," her eyebrows furrowed slightly as she quoted the few lines. "I needed to soothe the roughs waves of my mind to see everything more clearly and better mend the aches commonly designated to the heart."

"So she thought deep breathing exercises would heal heart break?"

"No," her face was set in a calm serious as she turned to him, both eyes opened, "it was meant to keep me from breaking other people."

She looked at him head on waiting for an appalling reaction, instead she saw an unruffled one on his face with the edge of his lips in a small smile.

_He doesn't seemed surprised, _she noticed.

"You don't seem alarmed?" She questioned him.

"Is that a statement or a question?" He asked back slyly.

"Mmmm…" She pretended to weigh both. "What do you think?" She asked coyly.

"Sounds like a statement."

"Well, it demands an answer."

His perfect set of teeth peeked out as he smiled.

"Okay, fine. I'm not the least bit alarm by the idea of you breaking people."

"Hmm…" She eyed him apprehensively.

"Well, I mean, from the first time I saw you at the bar…." He left it hanging, lingering between them as her lips came to a smile.

"I have a good defense for that. That guy had it coming." She said matter-of-factly.

"I'm sure he did."

"He reeked of alcohol." She added.

"Probably never smelled any better."

"He couldn't string together a coherent sentence."

"I'm sure he couldn't even do that sober."

Her mouth opened up into a grin. His quick little replies were so adorable, as they sided with her.

"He wouldn't stop ogling me."

"Who wouldn't?" A silly, lopsided grin was plastered on his face.

Her lashes fluttered in surprise at his sudden flattery. She raised a brow and couldn't hold back a little giggle as the edge of her lip found its way in between her teeth again.

_No, stop it Kori. Control._

There was a small pause as she looked away. She tried to make her face stony but couldn't find it in her to stop smiling.

"I- I guess I just punched him because…," The light airy tone of her voice vanished as it grew deeper as anger found its way into it. "I was getting sick of being treated like a piece of.. of.."

"Meat?" He finished.

Again, she whipped around to him.

His silly grin had changed to a sincere, sweet smile that portrayed a sense of understanding.

Her eyes searched his and she found them overflowing with compassion.

"Y-yeah. How'd you-"

"I've had my share of uninvited admirers."

_Of course. How could I forget? Mr. Bigshot has had his fair share of girls. Imagine the number of women he's taken in and thrown out the next morning. He's probably had a woman every night, maybe two. Strumming their heartstrings, whispering soft nothings into their ears, exploiting their brains with bottles and bottles of alcohol. This sick disgusting, inconsiderate sleazy, lowlife of a scumbag. Hold up Kori. Breathe. A minute ago you were going gaga for his goon ready to pounce on him and now, you hate him? How fickle can I be? I was suppose to have left that airheaded naïve little girl a long time ago. Use your brain, Kori. You don't really hate him. You just hate the stereotype that he fits into. Wait, that doesn't sound much bett-_

"Hellooo?"

"Huh? Sorry? What?"

"You okay? You seemed kind of engaged up here," her tapped her forehead. "Don't tell me you're coming down with the cold, too." He gently put his hand on her forehead then moved to her neck where his hand didn't urge to move from.

"What? It's nothing." she lied. "You're the unwell one." She reminded him as she clutched his hand on her throat with both of hers, feeling the large rough surface of his palm. "Anyways, where were we?" She quickly stated, moving his hand down to the couch.

"Still on the subject of your capability of destruction."

Kori's dazzling smile returned yet again.

"You're just so….… strong." He drew circles on one of her thumbs, as her hands still held on to by his. She smiled, looking down to their intertwined fingers.

Dick saw this as the perfect time to bring up something that was burning up inside of him

"I mean -ahem- you just need a few words to bring a grown man down to a blithering, pleading puddle of an idiot."

He watched her cautiously, as her smile became stony and her jaw stiffened.

Ignoring her face, he continued, "There must have been some real deep history between you two."

"It's all in the past." She blankly replied.

He stared earnestly and intently into her eyes until finally, she gave in.

"Okay, okay. Stop with the eyes, they're killing me. Me and Roy, we were just….."

_Boyfriend and girlfriend. _Dick thought, disgruntledly. The thought of Kori and Roy together just irked him so much. Thinking of them as something serious just made him feel so angry.

"A fling."

Dick heart soared. _A fling! They were never serious, it was just a fling. A mere fling. Just the two of them- wait. A __**fling? **__That would mean… _His heart fell back down with a loud thump, echoing into his ears.

**"You guys were a fling!?" **He asked in a much more demanding tone than he wished.

"Is that a statement or a question?" Kori asked him, a bit hesitantly, hoping to lighten the atmosphere, which had just gotten a bit stormy. Boy, was he upset.

"Both." He said in a more gentle tone.

"Well, at least that's what he called it."

_Oh Phew.…._Dick could feel a temper he didn't know he had slowly drop._ Shut up and listen, Dick. _

"Before you get your briefs in a bunch, let me just explain. He came up to me in a bar. We drank a few drinks, he was charming and funny, one thing let to another and-uh….." The colour in Dick's face seemed to have drained away. "The next morning we agreed to hold off on the labels first cause I just got out of a relationship and he wasn't looking for one anyway. So we hung out, had fun. Then after a long time, I really started liking him and I thought he was liking me too. But then he called me up and told me it was over."

"Oh. Over the phone? Sheesh. I'd want to kill that jerk too."

"I'm fine with the how, it's the why that I can't let go of."

The world felt like it had shrank. It was only the two of them. As if trapped in a bubble of their own little world where every word spoken was listened and every movement made was seen. He watched her intensely, waiting patiently for her to continue this tale that had seemed to struck her right on the nerves before.

"Boring. He said I was boring." Her eyes flickered then her head tilted down so few stray locks of hair curtained her face. Her shoulders slumped and her lips drooped.

He felt like the air had been knocked out of him. His gut was aching and his heart just dropped at the sight of her bring so….. hurt. "No way. He said that?"

"Yeah... those words stung for a long time," Her eyes blinked back to the reality in front of her, pulling the tips of her lips into a smile. "Anyways, I'm over it now but it was real fun poking at him. Did you see the way he was groveling? HAH!" She was just laughing it off but Dick took this personally.

"How could he even say that? How on Earth could he think you were…. were…. boring?! I mean you're not even…... you're so funny, so sarcastic, so smart, so confident, so beautiful, so..." He looked up to see her staring at him. Her lips curled into a little "o" and her eyes wide, urging for him to continue. Those gorgeous green that were just so beguiling. "You're just….. just so…."

"Yes?"

"Awesome."

She turned away, eyelids sealed and lips turned around into a great big smile. When was the last time anyone was so sincere with her? She couldn't remember. Now, she was downright flattered and she just couldn't stop this insane giggle.

Dick let out a laugh too. Her giggle was the cutest. He has never heard anything more adorable. And the lip biting she kept doing… Damn, it was so attractive. Dick found it impossible to keep his eyes off her. She was so enlivening. She was what excited his day and made him proud to be alive. And right now she was buzzing, even bubbling you could say. He'd never want this moment to stop. But he was just as happy, even more so, when the moment did and she turned to him. A light blush had crept to her cheeks, making her somewhat flushed. The colour accentuated her eyes, made her just even more breathtaking.

"He's an idiot." He stated point blank.

"Yeah…But then again he's not the only one." She said, chewing on her lip.

_She keeps biting her lip.. Biting… and biting… doesn't it hurt? It's getting awfully red. It looks so juicy and delicious. She should stop. No. Definitely not. What would take her to stop, though? Think about it. Maybe if I just k-_

"I was a real fuddled naïve desperate girl last time."

HAHAAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHA.

Gone was the great smile, instead replaced by a stony expecting expression with the slightest hint of….embarrassment?

"You're joking right?" He looked closely at her. His questiong azure to her meek green. He could tell she intended to remain stony but, eventually, her lips twitched into a tiny smile at the sides.

"Uhhhhhh-…" She quickly looked up to the ceiling averting his eyes. Her mouth opened about to answer, her tongue rolling along her teeth, but then settled on the edge of her lip, gnawing it slightly. "Mmmmmm…" Her pupils fell to her fingers between his.

_Whoa. Kori is speechless. She must have been a seriously messed up chick. Obviously this is a really embarrassing topic for her to discuss. _ Dick understood it was probably difficult and discomforting for someone to talk about a past they were embarrassed about. But this was Kori. He's dying to know everything about her. He wanted to see all the expressions she could manage to produce, all the sounds she could make; he wanted to hear her laugh again, to see her chew on her lip, to see those beautiful green eyes roll around and to just be with her and spend quality time with her. Then there's the fact that Dick just couldn't get over much he enjoyed seeing her like this. She was like an excitable little girl. Unable to control herself. So adorable. So lovable.

"It's really embarrassing." She finally admitted. "When I think about, I just want to jump into a rocket and fly to a distant planet millions of lightyears away."

"I want to know all about it."

She looked at his sly smirk and pleased expression. "Let's just say I was as senseless, pathetic and pitiful as a girl could get."

Dick scoffed but quickly covered it up with a few coughs. "Ahem."

"I was dumb. I did a lot of things back then that I'm not proud of today."

"Really? What's the worst thing that you regret the most?"

"I was completely delusional."

"How delusional? Like aliens landed on Earth and are actually here to take our cows?"

"What? No! I was delusional and plain foolish enough to believe in… in-" At the moment she slipped her fingers from his, "the idea of love."

His mind sank back slightly. His heart leaped to his mouth.

"And the fact that I was so desperate to actually have it." She shook her head disapprovingly of her past self.

"You don't believe in love?"

"Not anymore."

His stomach gurgle and rumbled loudly.

Kori jumped from her seat. "I knew I forgot about something! Food! You haven't had your breakfast yet, have you?" And she bolted to the kitchen.

A series of clinking and clanging followed by the slamming of fridge doors and drawers emerged from the kitchen as Kori took out the necessary utensils. She pushed a container into a little microwave oven and beeped a few buttons.

"Why not?"

"Hmmmm?" Kori closed the microwave door and looked up to Dick, who was standing right beside her.

"Why don't you believe in love?"

"It hurt too much. The loss, the pain, the heartbreak, the pathetic excuses and lies. I guess I'm just fed up. I'd like to live independently, not having to depend on anyone. It's…" She leaned against the microwave, crossing her arms over her chest. "nice."

She noticed Dick was staring at her, with a look of disbelief, disappointment and longing. Confused, she asked, "What about you, millionaire playboy? Can you telling me that you have faith in love?"

"Well…." What could he say? He never did and never has. And over a month ago, he was sure he never would. Then again, over a month ago, he'd never be in this situation: with a beautiful woman for a neighbor and best friend; happy, away from bothersome flings. The same amount of time ago, he'd never be thinking so hard about a girl. Be so twisted up inside, so confused about what he wanted in life. He'd never have this feeling he's feeling.

"I thought so."

_DING!_

"Anyways, enough about that. You need to eat."

Dick unwarily followed her out of the little kitchen and to the bar-counter that separated the kitchen from the room. He climbed onto a high bar stool to face a blob of yellowish brown blob on a plate.

"Go on, it's lasagna. I made it myself."

He took the fork Kori offered him.

"You…," He looked up to her sparkling eyes, shimmering with excitement. It was rare for her to show this much affection. The whole day that's what she was doing: opening up to him. He saw and leant more about her feelings and personality today than he did the past few weeks. "You tend to hold your cards a little too close to your chest, sometimes. You know that?" His eyes looked seriously into hers.

She seemed a little taken aback then she told him in a cool, low and slow tone, "People used to tell me that I wore my heart on my sleeve, all the time. I looked it up. And it just means that your emotions are evident to people around you." She looked him directly in the eye leaning onto the counter, putting her face close to his. Almost in a whisper, she told him," Then I came up with a theory. When your emotions and feelings are so open, you're going to get hurt. You just are. The risk is there. You can't stop it. You care for someone with all your heart and they just- just- just…. " Dick watched as she turned away slightly, blinking hard as she swallowed, straining to say, "Use you, take you for granted." She continued in a more fast-paced, almost aggressive tone," You lose yourself, your respect, your dignity. You've become something not worth anything real instead you've just become an accessory token, shoved in front of friends' faces over a drink of beer. Feelings: the deeper they run, the harder they are to control and the more likely they are to be crushed." She stood up straight, walking around the counter into the kitchen. "Living independently. It's better this way. Easier," She said, pulling a bottle of water out of the fridge.

It sunk in, finally. He could never be with her. He won't treat her right. He's never been in a proper relationship. If he did, she'd be back to square one, leaving a useless guy, cutting all ties going as far away as home in tears, heartbroken. He couldn't do that to her, not after everything she had accomplished everything she had prepared herself for. He isn't the right guy for her. She's extraordinary. She deserves perfection and nothing less.

He took a forkful of the blob and rolled the food around in his mouth. He chewed carefully.

Her face seemed to have jumped back into excitement as she asked him, "Is it good?"

He finished the mouthful, forcefully swallowing it down. It was horrible. The worst food he's ever eaten. The rubbery texture left a bad taste in his mouth and continued to burn his insides as it crawled down his chest scratching him all the way down to the pit of his stomach.

Glancing up to her excited sparkling green beautiful eyes, those smiling lips and a set of pink tinted cheeks, he found that he didn't have the heart to tell her otherwise. Mainly because he could feel his own heart cracking slightly, each fragment plummeting lower that the questionable lasagna. Nonetheless, right now, he couldn't bother about that. He just wanted her to be happy.

So he assured her by sticking another forkful into his mouth and a slight nod. Her eyes sparkled in delight as she let out a giggle of glee. Dick could feel the wounds within him grow deeper as the shards stabbed him harder.

* * *

_This was uploaded the moment I finished it. I only got to look through it once so sorry for any weird little errors! I was outstation the past 2 weeks, so sorry for late updating. _

_How was it? Long and painful? Cause Kori and Dick are extra flirty in this chapter. If I were you, I'd be frustrated how nothing has even happened yet. Kori being physically attracted is making her think of Dick in a different way, unfortunately her head is trying to keep her from doing so. She's getting excited, making her show her more expressive side. And Dick is falling, or more like has fallen, for that part of her cause, well.. it's her. It's the real side of her. Not the cool, sarcastic witty girl she likes to put on for everyone._

_It's really surprising where writing can take you. I really intended this chapter, actually more like the whole story, to go a different way but it just didn't work out cause I was forcing it. The moment I just relaxed and let the story take me it to where it was going, It fIt perfectly. _

_And I don't really get why in all the rob/star fanfics I've read, Robin is always fantasizing about Starfire. I mean, Robin is just as super and just as hot as her. And girls get …. Thoughts about these kinda things too. Girls don't think less than these guys either, it's more actually since we're more observant about these stuff. So it'd make more sense for Kori to start thinking about these things. It was more fun for me to write this way too. :P _


	12. Anything But A Rude Awakening

**Chapter 12: Anything But A Rude Awakening. **

_Snoring. Loud, ear-splitting snores. Just… loud. Somewhere in a distance but right below my ears. A creeping numbness. A shift of weight. Hehe. It tickles. Now something is rubbing itself into…. my hips?_

Kori Anders' eyes shot up disconcertedly then looked down.

She was lying at an angle on her couch, her neck resting, implausibly comfy, in the crook of the armrest; the rest of her was sprawled across the cushions, one leg just touching the floor as the other dangled off the edge. Though her position was less than ordinary, she dare not move lest she'll wake up sweetly sleeping, and loudly snoring, Dick Grayson. The ever-so charming Richard Grayson, in all his majestic splendor, laid scrambled on top of her. His head resting on the bottom half of her stomach, his jaw snuggling into the top of her hip bone. His hands had crept up and around her thigh and were hugging it lovingly. The rest of him was twisted into a disordered position with his legs hanging over the other armrest. Few locks of his usually-never tousled hair had fallen onto his forehead. His shoulders raised and fell humbly as he went on in his undisturbed dreamstate.

Her lips went into a smile as her mind wandered back to yesterday.

She had provided Dick with some lunch, after which he looked even more sickly, though Kori could not fathom why. So they found ease on the couch and decided to watch a movie. By the credits, you could say that they enjoyed more of each other's company more than the movie.

Kori had just put in the DVD, one of her favourite classic.

As the intro showed on the screen, Dick asked her, "Psst. Kori."

"Hmmm?" She went.

"Why are we watching this?"

"What, you don't like western classics?"

"Well, no."

"Oh."

"Why, do you?"

"I love them."

"Seriously? Kori Anders is a cowboy-film fanatic." He positioned his body to face her.

"You could say that…." She said with a growing smile.

"Why?"

"It's an interesting display of human culture and history. The way they talked, walked and challenged each other, all are intriguing human behavior. t's…... fascinating."

He wasn't sure what to say next. He was more than just a little surprised.

"Then, what are you're kind of movies do you like?" She asked him.

And that was the spark. They went on exchanging questions and answers. They were back in their own little bubble again.

Time ticked by, and Kori found herself curling up on the couch, while Dick brought his legs up and sat cross-legged. Both were extremely and wholeheartedly keen on what the other had to say.

Dick took interest in everything she said. It was invigorating and addictive to see the way she lit up whenever she talked about herself and what she thought, liked and disliked.

She loved the way his head would nod after she spoke, how he never seemed to stop being surprised by what she had to say and the way he'd smile every time she started a new sentence. Seeing him smile made her just want to start laughing out of pure joy.

They talked and talked, asking each other random questions.

"So, tell me, Miss Kori Anders, what was your very first impression of me?"

"At first glance, I would've bet you'd be a lawyer."

"What? What would make you think that?

"You just have that sharp useless look about you."

"Ouch." His hand reached up to his heart as he leaned back into the couch. He shut his eyes to portray hurt.

"Don't be such a girl. Anyways, what was yours of me?"

"Only one word came to mind when I first saw you."

Kori arched her brow in curiosity. Did she make that bad of first impressions?

"Trouble."

"What?"

"You were tall, hot, alone and drinking. What was I supposed to think? And in that dress….."

"What was wrong with my dress?"

He looked to her with the most serious face, "It could stop traffic on a Sunday."

Again. This boy just knew how to make her feel flattered. He made her feel so guilty; as if she was a small girl again, blushing for when she got caught doing something bad. Every moment she was listening to him was like being a toddler stealing cookies from the cookie jar from the top shelf. Tiptoeing on the high chair, stretching up far above you. You know you shouldn't be doing it, but you just want to. But halfway through, you starting considering the situation. It could be exceedingly rewarding as you could indulge in a jar full of sweet deliciousness. On the other hand, it was extremely dangerous, as there was a risk of falling, hard, at any moment.

"But," he started, "if we hadn't gotten the chance to get to know each as well as we did in front of our apartment doors." Dick waggled his brows at her as he reminded her of how close she had brushed her body against his. Kori's brows, in turn, shot up, asking him where he was going with this.

She knew she should stop this. This playful banter and suggestive facial expressions.

"I would've thought you to be a Playboy bunny."

OWWH.

Kori punched him hard on in the arm, her eyes wide and mouth open. She laughed as she shrieked to him, "You thought I was a bunny!?"

She needed to stop it, before someone got hurt, but, just like listening to Dick, and like stealing cookies from the cookie jar, it made her feel just as naughty. And for now, it was just too much a thrill to give up.

He stirred. Kori's head dropped swiftly back onto the armrest. After a few seconds she opened one eye to peek at him. _Nope, false alarm. He's still asleep. _The locks on his forehead had fallen lower over his eyes. She gently stroked the hair away, as she examined his flawless bone structure position itself in the most unflattering expression. A drool of saliva dripped onto her pants from his ajar-opened mouth, the same dark hole where a grotesque snore was emanating from.

She combed back the hair on his forehead as she remembered the same expression of shock that appeared on his face many times yesterday.

"Fourteen?!"

"Yup."

"You know a total of fourteen languages?"

"Actually, sixteen since I know 3 different dialects of Chinese."

She smiled to herself as she remembered how his face changed from shock to amazement to confounded and back to amazement and then became a mixture of all three. She recalled how his lips shaped themselves into a dozen different shapes as he tried to think of something to respond with and how his watery eyes blinked and blinked until she found it hard to find those gratifying blues.

She started laughing when she thought of how his eyebrows looked like they were going to jump off his face, then immediately stopped when Dick moved. She cupped her hands over her mouth when he let out a groan, then quickly dropped them as he just went back to his contented snoring. He rubbed his face into her stomach. Her shirt had gathered up slightly, exposing the bottom side of her abdomen and as he rubbed his face, she could feel his stubble tickle her.

_Don't laugh. Don't laugh. Don't laugh. _She screamed to herself. She bit her lip to stop herself. Finally, after a few agonizing seconds, he stopped. She let out a breath of relief.

He had found out she was ticklish yesterday, or as he had put it, "her ultimate weakness".

Suddenly the thought popped into her head. _Could he be awake right now? Maybe he's just enjoying the position he's in too much to open his eyes. Can he feel me looking at him? Did he know when I ran my fingers through his hair? _She looked down at him, once more, his distorted face and boisterous noise making. _Sly bastard._

Suddenly, his eyelids inched open. Kori's head dropped to the armrest with a thump. _Crap_, she cursed inwardly.

She heard a groan then a yawn before feeling the weight on her lift. Then she heard a small gasp- or was it a deep breath?- followed by something that sound along the lines of, "best sleep I've had in months."

Slowly she pretended to wake up. She let out a groan and stretched her arms back, letting out a yawn -just to be safe.

"Morning, sunshine," She greeted with a smile.

"Morning." He smiled at her through half open eyes. Suddenly, a ray of light hit his face. Shielding his eyes, he turned to his side where the light was coming in from.

"What time is it?" He said in a deep, scratchy tone.

"I'm not sure. It's early though. The sun is just coming up." From their seats next to each other on the couch they could see from Kori's opened blinds, the sunrise, adding a soft orange to the already balmy, pink sky. Kori gazed down, their hands were intertwined around the fingertips. _Since yesterday_, Kori realised.

The sun finally took its rightful place in the sky, overlooking the city.

He might have been a little disorientated at first, but he quickly snapped out of it when he heard Kori say, "How bout I make us some breakfast?"

"NO!" His head whipped around to face hers. "I, um, spent the whole night at your place. The least I could do is make you breakfast." He gave her a big toothy grin as hair flopped onto his face.

"Fine." Kori succumbed to his early morning cuteness.

He froze for a moment, caught up in early morning Kori. Looking back at her, sitting on the couch, his eyes snaked down her unbrushed fiery red hair that flew out around her. Combed off her forehead, her fresh clean face glowed at him with its radiance as her smile warmed the room. Her eyes seemed more beguiling in the morning sunshine that poured onto her face. Her red locks spiraled around her neck and licked at her collarbones. His eyes were scaling slowly down, a bit too far down, so he slapped his eyes with his hand then passed it off as if he was rubbing his forehead. He mumbled with a lopsided grin on his face before quickly jumping off the couch after realizing he was gawking for too long.

"What did you say?" Kori asked.

"Um.. just that it's great waking up to a great view…. The sunrise, I mean. It's a- um- great way to start the day." He flashed her what looked like a guilty smile. He turned around, stretching his arms behind his head as he made his way to the kitchen.

His zip on his hoodie now was lower than before, much lower. Kori was having a great view on the couch as well, unfortunately he had jumped off the chair so quickly. Kori turned around on the couch, draping her arms over the backrest, her chin sitting on her arms. His hoodie was folded up slightly at the back and his pants had loosely dropped a bit. Mid way to the kitchen, while he was stretching, he bent over to touch his toes.

"Mmmhhhmmm….. I know what you mean about a great view." Kori said as her eyes casually fell on his very fit, round behind come into full view. He came back up, put his arms on his back as he arched backwards. She watched silently from her little place on the couch, as the dimples of his back peeked out from above the dark elastic of his underwear. As he reached the kitchen doorway, he made a slight jump to touch the top of the arch. Kori's insides jumped spun with delight as his flexed back muscles greeted her. "It really is a great way to start the day."

* * *

Okay? Yes? No? I haven't been writing as much as I'd like to the past couple of weeks. Sorry bout that. I try to deliver quality stuff and for the past week, everytime I wrote...it was basically crap. Anyways, hoped you enjoyed this chap as much as I enjoyed writing it. Next chapter will hopefully be up soon. Hopefully!


	13. Never-changing Ties

**Chapter 13: Never-changing Ties.**

_Later that same morning_

"She's gone."

"Are you sure?"

"I'm really sorry, man."

"There's really nothing you can do?"

"Nope."

Dick let out a cry as he put his face into his hands.

"Come on, man. I'm sure it can be fixed."

"Good morning!" Kori walked up to the two men with something big and black in her hands.

"Is it? Is it really!?" Dick disproved in an over melodramatic tone.

"Whoa, cheer up sunshine." Kori teased him. "What's got him so down in the dumps?" She directed to Victor.

"His car's suspension has worn out. The engine's a bit overheated too." He replied lightly.

"Oh. Is that all?" Kori couldn't see the problem here. She turned to Dick, with a more comforting hand. "Not like it can't be fixed right?"

"It can be fixed." Victor said.

"So what's the big deal?" Asked Kori, the least bit unnerved by the entire situation.

"The pieces need to be imported. So she's going to be out of order for at least a week or two." Dick cried out loudly.

"Don't worry, you can still get around!" He patted Dick's back, causing Dick to stumble slightly from the large force. " There's a cab at every corner, man." Offered Victor as a hope for consolation.

"Or just call up daddy and ask him to send over another sports car." Kori added. "You only have a dozen more, right?"

"Yeah.. but…She was my new favourite." Dick wept.

Kori and Victor shared a disbelieving look. _Rich people, _they both thought.

Kori and Vic were pulled back to the situation at hand when Dick let out another unappealing wail of sorrow.

"Oh, come on, you big baby." Kori urged him as she grabbed a hold of his shirt.

"You guys go ahead. I needa get back to work." Called Vic as he marched off, shaking his head in amusement.

Kori waved goodbye as she dragged a sobbing Richard Grayson around to the front of the building. They stopped and Kori waited.

Dick peeked up to her. "What are we doing here, Kori?"

"Give it a minute."

Sounds of brakes and the smell of exhaust reached Dick as a huge carrier truck parked in front of them. A man got out of the seat and walked over to Kori.

"About time." Kori muttered under her breath with a tinge of irritation.

"You a Miss Kori Anders?" He asked her.

"Yup."

"Sign here."

She gracefully picked up the pen and scribbled on the clipboard. "Okay. It's in the back." He told her.

Kori took a stride to the back of the truck, Dick ambling behind her like a lost puppy.

The hatchet opened. Dick's jaw crashed to the ground. Finally, after gathering his wits. "Kori, what's that?"

"Our ride to work." She sang between a set of grinning teeth.

* * *

"Like, OMG. Did you hear? came to work today with that girl again."

"Kori Anders?"

"Who else?"

"I bet they're dating."

"I heard they're engaged."

"People say she's a spy using Mr. Grayson as a way to get into Wayne Industry."

"Poor boy doesn't know what he's getting himself into."

"She's trouble for sure."

"Maybe she's an assassin."

"That's bull, anyways, they came to work together again.."

"They come to work together every morning."

"But this time, came in totally a mess. His luscious hair was super messy, his suit was all wrinkly, his shirt was untucked and he didn't have a tie on."

A loud group of gasps sounded before much more whispering occurred.

"Are they sleeping together?"

"It was all over his face."

"A man wouldn't look at happy otherwise."

"But who wouldn't want to sleep with him, anyway?"

There was a short moment as silence as the number of heads all nodded in agreement.

"Maybe she's just a sk-"

BANG!

All eyes turned to the glass bottle that was banged onto their table. The hand wrapped around the body loosened slightly as its owner said," I'm sorry. Was that too loud?" Her eyes fluttered innocently as she finished her question in a blood curdling sweetness. "I was just trying to kill some **pests**." Her lips curled as she said "pests", her eyes roaming over each and every face staring at her. "Sadly, I juuuuust missed them." She continued in a syrupy sweet, mocking tone. "Oh wells," She brought the bottle back into the palm of her hands. The group of office ladies trembled with fright as her fingers wrung the mouth of the bottle so slow and roughly, "better luck next time, huh, girls?" she pulled the cap off, making one scream as it went off with a pop.

PFFFFFFFFFFFFFFT, HAHAHHAHHAAHHAAH.

Dick let out a laugh he couldn't control anymore, as Kori sat back down next to him. In the staff canteen, they were both having a peaceful lunch when the table next to them started gossiping.

"You…. "Dick tried to say, "are….." He continue between laughter. Once he caught his breath, he rushed at her, saying, "something else, Kori Anders. You know that?"

Kori let herself smile. Watching him enjoy himself so much, made her so happy. And the fact that he didn't think of her as a skank, or a slut or a bimbo or even scary, kept her on cloud nine. She'd take "something else" over any of those names any day. She was just glad that he saw her as something worthwhile and she was almost afraid to admit it, but, she wouldn't trade that for anything in the world.

"Dick…"

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH

"Dick…"

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH

"Richard."

He stopped.

"You'll need to get a cab back. I'm meeting up with a friend."

_Friend? A friend? What friend? A guy friend? Ex boyfriend? Future boyfriend? Wait. Just ask her, Dick._

"Friend? What friend?" He tried to ask in the coolest manner he could possibly manage.

"Why do you wanna know?" Asked Kori, lifting the bottle to her lips as her brows shot up questioningly at him.

_Dick, you idiot._

"Just… curious."

"Hmmm…."

"Anyway, where are you and your "friend" going to meet?" _Casual. Keep it casual Dick._

"I don't know. Maybe that cheap motel 3 blocks down from our apartment?" She said casually, winking at him, taking in the delight as he fidgeted in his seat after he realised what she was implying.

After a silence few seconds of just enjoying his awkwardness, she told him truthfully, "My best friend's back in town. I'm meeting her at the Pizza Place."

"What pizza place?"

"No idea. She say's Jump City only has one place for pizza."

"Really?"

"Yeah."

"Weird."

"I know right."

_Ring-ring-ring._

"You should take that."

"Yeah. I'll be one moment."

"What up, Gar?"

"Guesss whattttt." A playful tone came from Dick's phone speaker.

"Gar, I will not guess how many bugs you found in your underwear anymore. The last number kinda freaked me out."

"Dude! No, not today! Guess what, I just got back-"

"What?! You told me you'd be back next week!"

"I said this week, dude."

"No, last week, you told me in two weeks."

…

"Whatever, dude. I'm here now."

"Cool! Means I'll need to throw a welcome back party-"

"Dude, no. Not this time."

"What got into you? You're sounding… serious.. and happy. Did you eat that funny looking mushroom again?"

"No way, dude! Anyway, the doctor already gave me some meds for when that happens again. So, how bout later we meet at the-" Gar went into a whisper as he talked to someone next to him, "You sure he'll know the place? Dick isn't that smart and he has a bad sense of direction." A raspy voice on Gar's end assured him he'd never know till he told him.

"There's this place in Jump. You think you can find it?"

"I don't know, Gar. I'm not very smart, nor do I have a good sense of direction." Dick replied monotonously.

"Just remember: you said it, not me." Gar played.

* * *

"Thanks for the drop off, Kori." Thanked Dick as he got off the very gorgeous bike, to which it's even more so owner drove.

"Don't mention it. I'm meeting up my friend somewhere here anyway." Spoke Kori casually.

"Right. Guess I'll see you back at the apartment." They had finally agreed Dick'd take a cab back to the apartment after much of Kori's objections.

"Yup." Kori gave a small salute off her helmet before whizzing away, leaving Dick in her dust.

* * *

"YO DICK!"

Richard turned around, his eyes, along with many others falling on a well-built, average sized man with a face of a cheeky boy's. The dimple on the side of his face made it difficult to actually identify his proper age. His eyes glowed with a glint of mischief that should have been well-grown-out-of a long time ago. His usually messy dirty blonde look surprisingly neatly kempt, except for the few bits that fell across the tips of his impish ears. _Same old Gar. Something's different about him though…. More grown up. Maybe it's cause he finally filled out. _

"Nice to see you too Gar."

They exchanged a bro-hug.

"So why did you want me to meet you at the florist again?" Dick asked, clearly indicating the florist sign they were standing under.

"I just wanted to compare your beauty to that of a freshly bloomed rose." Gar slowly began raising his hand to caress Dick's face.

Dick swatted it away, laughing. "Come on, man, seriously though."

"Just thought we could get some grub… But before that….." Gar walked straight into florist, pointing behind the lady at the counter. Dick was mildly surprised when he popped his head out the shop and asked him, "Hey, Rich… Could you lend me a hand?"

Dick pulled out his wallet as he gladly laughed, "Glad to see somethings never change."

* * *

_Hmmm. Hope he'll be alright. He'll be fine right? He's a big boy. Big millionaire rich boy… _She shook her head as she weaved through a couple of cars. _So, the restaurant should be- here._ She parked at the corner of the very same block she had just dropped Dick off at. Turning to her side, she could see the sign of the florist she had dropped Dick off at. _Hmm. That was... easy._

She dismounted her bike, checking her phone as she walked up to the door. _This is the right place…._

Someone bumped into Kori. A few someones actually. A crowd of people were rushing out of the restaurant. Not really caring much, she went against the crowd, weaving in between the mass of people till she finally was inside.

"Ugh. Dinner crowds." A voice caught Kori's ears among the crowd.

"Rude." She mumbled.

"Good day, um- Sir? Do you have a reservation?"

"Huh? Oh!" It was only then that Kori she realised she had walked in with her helmet still on.. She lifted it off her head, letting loose her long locks to drape against her leather back.

"Ehm-ahem- Oh, Miss. S-s-sorry. Miss, Do- d-do you have a reservation?" The man stammered.

"Oh no. I'm just meeting a friend." She flashed her set of pearly whites to the man behind the podium, making him drip into a gooey, fawning puddle. She peered around the restaurant, carefully scanning the crowd; once the target was found, Kori took off.

"Miss?"

* * *

"So, this girl…."

"She's not just a girl. She's one of a kind. Like from a whole different universe or something. She's beautiful. She's smart. She's observant. She has answers for things you've never even thought or heard about. She knows things and sees things in ways you'd never believe. She can just sense stuff too. It's like she's psychic or something. Or even mystical… Then, she has these like magic orbs for eyes. They're big, pretty and shiny in this like supernatural colour. She just-just-…. She illuminates." They came to a stop. Gar looked to Dick. "Ya know?"

Dick did know. He knew very well what it was like to find an extraordinary girl and to be smitten with her, like how his best friend was. He had been yammering on about her since they left the flower shop. The moment he started, his face went into a euphoria. His eyes lit up with a different kind of glow, his dimple went deeper as his smile broadened and his voiced gushed.

"And you won't believe how good she smells-" He never got to continue what he was going to say because a loud high-pitched scream had erupted behind the set of doors they had stopped in front of.

* * *

Not waiting a second longer, both of them rushed inside the restaurant. The two men stopped and gaped at the scene before them.

Kori had someone in her arms and was swinging them side-to-side as if they were a teddy bear. The whole restaurant seemed to stare at the gorgeous redhead violently bearhugging a petite person. From Dick's view, seemed like the person was a girl, judging by the long dark hair swaying around.

A bunch of strange noises came from beside him. Gar had doubled over, snickering and chortling, before finally toppling over and was rolling on his back.

Dick's eyes switched from the scene in front of him back to the one rolling around his feet. This was the first time, ever, Dick was caught in a public situation in like this, and sense of dread washed over him as he predicted it wouldn't be the last.

* * *

Merry Christmas guys! Anyways, Christmas has been keeping me busy for the past week. But it's on time, right? I like how this turned out. I don't know if I captured everything just right, but, I'm satisfied. Hope you're excited for the next chapter as I am! HEHE :B


	14. Newly Introduced

**Chapter 14: Newly introduced. **

After what took to be too long, everyone finally settled down, everyone being Kori. Dick, Kori, Raven and Gar sat at a table in the civillised manner they had lacked the entire morning, and continued to lack throughout their conversation.

Once Dick pulled Gar off the floor, both the boys managed to calm Kori down and free Raven from her clutches. There was a short introduction that ended with everyone asking, "You two know each other?"

And there were more questions to come.

"Anthropologist?"

"Zooarchaeologist?"

"Neighbours?" Two voices cried.

"So Gar, you study dead remains of animals?"

"And you study dead human culture for a living?"

"On the contrary, anthropology is not merely-"

"Hold up. Let me get this straight." A confused voice blurted out, ignoring the flurry of questions everyone else had asked. "Millionaire partyboy Richard Grayson," Gar turned his head to Dick, squinting his eyes as he looked at him disbelieveling, "has **actually** settled down in an apartment after moving out of the kick-ass Wayne mansion?!" Gar turned urgently to Kori eyeing her up and down, "And you're-

"his neighbor." Raven ended.

Kori gave a little nod of reassurance, a big grin on her lips.

"Dude, are you sleeping with her?"

_Thwack._

OWWWHH.

"Be a little more sensitive. Somethings should be discussed in private."

"It's a sensible question!"

"No it isn't."

"Yes it is."

"No it isn't"

"Yes-"

"End of discussion"

"Awwwww c'mon, Rae."

HAHHAHAHAHHAHAHHHAHAHAH.

Dick and Kori burst out laughing.

"What's so funny?" Asked Raven and Gar simultaneously.

"You two-" They both started off but then Dick signaled her to go ahead.

"He calIed you Rae. You don't let anybody call you Rae."

The three turned to Dick, waiting to know what he thought was so funny.

"Oh, nothing. Gar just got whacked on the head."

Everyone laughed at that.

"Wait, there's one thing I want to clear up. Me and Dick are neighbours. Gar and Dick are best friends. Me and Raven are best friends. So that leaves you two. How do both of you know each other?"

"She's an anthropologist."

"He's a zooarchaeologist."

"We were both called to work on the same site. Bing-bang-boom. Now we know each other reeeeaally well." He finished off, stretching his arm over Raven's chair, sneaking a cheeky glance at her from the side of his eyes.

"Bing-bang-boom?" Asked Kori.

"Yeap! Once she noticed my charm, she just couldn't get enough of me." Gar waggled his brows at Raven as she playfully pushed him away.

"It's not actually that concise." Raven explained. "We were on the same plane."

"And it was love at first sight."

"Wrong emotion. Gar spilled his apple juice all over me before the plane even took off."

"And being the gentleman that I am-"

"He followed me into the toilet and insisted on helping me clean up. Being the genius he was at the time, he shut the door behind us and-"

"I assure you, again, for the millionth time that you were the one who closed the door. "

Ignoring him, she went on, "- I'm guessing it was faulty or something, and locked itself. We couldn't get out and were stuck for the whole flight until the cabin crew came to clean up when the plane touched down."

"So you guys spent the whole flight in a tightly spaced cubicle…. together."

"And nothing happened?" Kori finished off, her voice as questioningly provocative as Dick's. And Dick's face was just as mischievously presumptuous as Kori's as they both watched Gar and Raven across the table.

"Well, at first, she started yelling at me. Then she started screaming even more when I tried to help. It was a miracle nobody heard the words she said from the outside."

"We were on the budget plane. Nobody heard probably due to the loud engine revving up."

"Well, whatever it was, it sure had a motive to keep us together. We ended up having to share a cab to our mutual workplace."

"So you guys were just really close, physically. Did all the knee knocking, elbow rubbing and shoulder grazing then perhaps elevate to the more places? Did you guys finally managed to close the gap anytime that you were together?" Kori spoke in an everyday tone, as if what she asked was totally innocent.

Gar's cheeks went into a dark blush. He and Dick looked at Kori with stunned looks.

Raven shook her head. "Told you she had a vivid imagination that just tends to get away from her time to time."

"So are you guys a thing? Like a serious, exclusive thing?" Dick asked them, both.

"You could say that…"

"I'm so happy for you guys!" Squealed Kori very loudly. A few tables turned back to them.

"Kori…," Raven and Dick both said simultaneously, which was a bit creepy. They shared a look and but it was who Raven advised her to calm down.

"No way, Rach-"

"Rach? As in Rachel? I thought you were Raven." Dick asked, in which Gar replied, "Rachel Raven Roth. Isn't that just a mouthful?"

"It's still better than Garfield." Dick retorted.

"Hey!"

"Yeah, that name is more fit for a clown than a scientist."

"Not you too, Rae!"

Kori laughed at how true that was. "How'd you survive high school with the name Garfield?"

"Actually, everyone loved him in school. That's where we first met and hit it off. Do you want to tell the story?" He asked Gar who replied, "Nahh, go ahead. I told it the first few many times."

"He was the new kid who transferred to my middle school. A scrawny, little dude from Africa, didn't know the first thing about the social politics of high school, or maybe he just couldn't be bothered with what other people thought." He smiled before continuing, "He was loud, energetic and had the worst jokes."

"Hey!" Gar protested.

"He was…. Lovable, in his own lame way. I, on the other hand, was the coolest kid in school."

Kori and Raven looked at Gar disbelievingly.

"It's true. He was cooler than ice."

"I see what you mean about the jokes." Kori remarked.

"I was too cool for him, or so I first thought. Then one day, a teacher's car got bombed with some balloons filled with paint by a couple of hooligans

The teacher called me up, and accused me flat out. I tried defending myself, telling him I didn't do it, but nobody stood behind me when I did. Then, Gar intervened. He told the everyone I was at his house when it happened, so I was innocent."

"So you were ruled innocent and went on being best friends forever." She guessed.

"Nope. The teacher had it out for the both of us, so we got sent to the principal. But being the rich kid and the new kid, the principal gave us the benefit of the doubt. We were suspended for a day. We spent that free day at my place pigging out on junk food and video games. We've been best friends and partners in crime ever since."

"Partners in crime? But you guys didn't do it." Raven said.

"Or did we?" Gar gave her a mischievous wink.

"Oh, so Kori, do you want to know what high school Dick was like?!" Gar shouted animatedly.

"Sure." Kori asked innocently, oblivious to Dick who was shaking his head and flailing his hands widlyly behind her.

"Two words. Hair gel and Spandex."

"That's four words." Raven told him.

"Same difference."

Kori turned to Dick, "I can't say I'm surprised." One word was written all over her lips: 'Briefs.'

"He was a hardcore gymnast. He wore the tights and tank top and everything. He was a total gym freak. I have the pictures to prove it."

Kori looked at him, this time with a totally different expression. Eyes open, mouth in a huge oval. "That is definitely worth the view." She said in an all-too happy tone.

"If you want,…"

Dick tried to plead under his breath. "No, Gar. Please, not the-"

"I could sell you the negatives."

"Oh Gar…."

"You were really a high school gymnast? Impressive." She said with a genuine smile.

"Not as impressive as you, Kori. You weren't much different in high school either. I mean, state fencing champion, black belts in taekwondo, jutso and aikido. Don't forget the competitions you won for archery, swimming and track."

The boys stared at her in disbelief.

"But I still didn't wear spandex."

"Wow. 3 kinds of martial arts?" Dick gaped.

"That's why you don't mess with her." Raven pointed out to Dick, her voice serious. "She has more black belts, medals, trophies and ribbons than you have cars."

"You wanna bet?" Challenged Dick.

"I'd put my money in that," volunteered Gar, uncaring, or not noticing, of the change of air between Raven and Richard. Suddenly, something outside the restaurant caught Gar's eyes at that point.

"Hah! Sorry for the dude with the cool motorbike. The guard looks like he's writing up a serious ticket."

"Kori…," Raven and Dick both said simultaneously again, which was a creepier the second time.

"Dudes, you need to stop doing that."

"I'll be right back." Kori quickly excused herself as she jogged to the door.

"Same old Kori. She got so many tickets for parking badly. She had to resit for her test twice."

"Whoa! How did they let her take the test 3 times?"

"Look at her. Would you reject her?"

Gar peeked pass Raven at Kori through the glass door. She was sitting on her sport bike, her legs crossed over the gleaming dark surface. She was talking to the officer, resting her face on her arms that were on her steering. She fluttered her eyelashes and smiled. From his place, Gar could see the officer stuttering, stammering and jittering in his place.

"I see what you mean."

"You know, at first I was thoroughly annoyed by her. I thought she was just an easy, dumb bimbo who didn't know a thing about the world except for what happened in her pretty little head."

Dick thought that was a little mean, but she was being honest. He had to respect that.

"But actually, she proved me wrong. Totally wrong. She's something else completely."

"Don't I know it."

Eyes travelled to Dick whose gaze was locked on Kori.

"Know this, Richard Grayson."

Dick turned to Raven, seeing her face in full severity.

"Kori deserves the best, but unfortunately she has the worst taste in men and has had more than her fair share than the worst kind. So if you hurt her-"

"You'll hit me, right? I get it. I won't hurt her."

Richard wasn't trying to be a know-it-all. He understood what she was trying to tell him.

Dick tried glancing back to Kori, but Raven pulled him back with saying, "Oh, no. I'll do far worse."

Raven now had his full attention, as well as Gars. Nobody at their table noticed as Kori stood up from her bike and leaned close into the officer, her face just under the open visor of his helmet.

"I have a degree in forensic studies. I can burn your flesh and skin clean off the bone and not leave a single trace of evidence." Raven stated.

Dick took a gulp as he looked into Raven's dark eyes, taking a good look for the first time. It wasn't a normal brown or black. It looked darker, almost purple or violet. Whatever it may be, Dick saw it as compellingly dangerous and it gave him chills.

So caught up in the conversation, none of them glanced outside to see Kori's hand reach toward the officer's pad he was writing and tear the first few papers off.

Raven leaned back into her seat, never halting her glare.

Gar was staring at Raven, "That was so hot."

With their attention otherwise deranged, they allowed the papers that Kori- still on the outside- had scrunched up into a big wad and tossed, fall perfectly into the dustbin behind her to go unseen.

Raven finally broke the glare and gave the awestruck Gar a light kiss on his cheek.

Dick rubbed his eyes with one hand as Kori strode in with a smirk on her lips. Everyone at the table welcomed her back with smiles, as if the earlier conversation never occurred.

"So what did you guys talk about? Was it me?

"In few words." Raven quipped.

"Fine. I guess I'll have to tell them about you then."

"Go ahead. I have nothing to hide," Raven dared.

"Oh really?" Kori's voice dipped into a syrupy tone. "How about the vitamin incident? "

"Oh you wouldn't."

"I would."

Gar was salivating at that. "What was it? You make it sound like some dirty secret."

With her eyes never leaving Raven's glare, Kori started her tale, "Raven was your typical goth girl: yeliner, bright purple hair, heavy metal music. Then one day, she accidentally took some of her dad's medication instead of her own daily vitamins." Kori paused, allowing Raven's glare to turn even icier.

"And?" Gar almost shouted. He seemed on the edge of his seat, anticipating where this story was going.

"Let's just say she came to school that day as Rachel, not Raven."

Gar whipped his head to the woman beside him. "Does that mean what I think it means?"

She was a totally different girl. "Not the snarky, bookworm goth but a perky, laughing schoolgirl. She flirted and giggled with the swimming team, joined the cheer squad, the homecoming committee and got a part in the upcoming school play all in one day."

Gar burst out into laughter and started banging the table with his fists. The whole restaurant was in a panic because of him.

"The play was really good. Especially the climax part where she got turned into a bunny and came out of a hat with the cutest little cotton tail."

That did it for him. Gar toppled over his chair and was rolling around again.

After a few minutes, of everyone laughing and Raven simmering in her seat, Dick spoke out," Okay. I'll get him off the floor."

Wiping tears from his eyes, Gar finally asked, "Did the whole school explode from seeing Raven's happy side?"

"Not quite. Everyone assumed she was a new student." Kori turned to Raven, "Rachel was dearly missed, but she always holds a special place in our hearts….. And my video camera."

"No, you didn't" Gar said in a hushed tone.

"Yes. I did."

A grin spilled over his face. "Wanna trade later? Dick in spandex for perky Raven."

"Deal."

Dick and Raven, on the other hand, sat quietly at the table, not knowing what to say. They didn't hold in possession any embarrassing material on their best friends.

"I still remember the first time Rae laughed. It was over a month on the site and of all the time that we had been together, none of us, me and the entire crew included, had heard her laugh. Then all of the sudden, she let out this loud howl. We didn't know if she was possessed by one of the ancient ghosts or she had lost it from being kept from civilization for too long. I remember how some of the crew members started running to the hills." Gar leaned back in his seat, as he started chuckling.

"Raven actually laughing in public? That's a first." Kori joked.

Even Dick had a hard time picturing her laughing.

"What happened?"

"For a whole month He had been following me like a stray puppy-"

"Hey, at least I'm housebroken."

Ignoring him, Raven went on. "And he'd always act like our run-ins were coincidental. When I finally asked him one day, out of pure annoyance why he was everywhere I was, he told me it was faith and destiny, that the stars were aligning in order for us to get together. The time couldn't be better, he said."

"Then what did you do, Rae?"

"I laughed. I laughed so hard I thought I was going to break in half."

"If it's any consolation, we thought you had too."

"So you didn't buy anything Gar was selling?" Dick asked her.

"Nope." She plainly replied.

"Told you she wouldn't, Gar."

This time, it was Gar's turn to send objecting signals across the table, behind Raven's back.

Raven turned round, and Gar set his arms behind his head, as if he was stretching back.

"What is he saying, Logan?"

"Heh, um…. Nothing?"

"You don't know, do you?" Dick playfully asked.

"Should I?"

Kori silently listened to their conversation, interested by the development.

"It might not have been love at first sight for you, but it sure was for this idiot. Before the first week ended, he knew out your daily routine and found out everything about you."

Raven turned to him, "You did?"

"Well, yeah. But-but-, don't get angry! I mean, it just, I-you, I don't know, you don't get locked in an airplane restroom with a beautiful girl everyd-" Gar would have gone on and on, uttering every kind of excuse he could think of to get him off the hook. Thankfully, for him, he didn't need it, because Raven grabbed his head and kissed him full on the lips.

"Wow." Was all that sounded from Dick and Kori.

Once they parted, Dick and Kori acted as if nothing happened and took sips of their drinks, looking around the restaurant, not hearing the two lovers, or at least they pretended not to hear as Raven whispered, "I love you Garfield Logan." To which Gar replied, "I love you too."

Richard cleared his throat, bringing the two back from their intimate moment. It was Kori who broke the brief awkward silence, "So is there a reason behind why you call both of us to meet up with both of you? I mean you guys didn't know we knew each other so why are both of us here with both of you?"

"We wanted to tell you guys something."

"More like announce…" Clarified Raven.

"Gar, I told you to use protection."

Eyes narrowed onto Dick.

"Dude! I did-" Gar stopped mid way when he noticed the sinister gleam in Raven's eyes next to him. "I mean….Noooooo, it's nothing like that!"

"What he's trying to say is-"

"WE'RE GETTING MARRIED!"

* * *

I like giving things in my fanfic their own backstory. Hope the ones here were okay. As you can guess, this is a very AU fanfic. I didn't realise how much until now. Anyways, I made a oneshot of Starfire and Robin! It's titled "Tied Down." It's a last minute kind of thing I did in an hour. But, go read it! Tell me if you liked it. :)

I can't wait to see what's going to happen in the next chap! Cause I haven't written it yet... I started the first para. and it appears to be good... I have chapter 16 ready though... Or maybe it'll turn out to be chapter 17... I'm not sure yet. It was suppose to originally be chapter 11, but this fanfic just needed more chaps. Meh. It's the way my brain works too. It work in mysterious ways. heh. Anyways, see all of you in the new chap!

School's startin tomorrow, so sorry if I'm not posting as usual. Oh, and I'm updating my blog page-author-cut-whatever-ha-call-it thingy. Go check it out if you want! Link's on my profile. It's not finished yet, it will be soon!


	15. Are You Ready?

**Chapter 15: Are You Ready?**

It all happened in a blur. Everything went so fast, or maybe it was just Gar's words. Words about seating arrangements and flowers gushed from his mouth so fast that Dick barely had time to process of it. He had to repeat the line "You're getting married", a few times. First it was barely audible in a whisper to himself then he finally stated it loud enough for the happy couple to hear and just to assure he heard correctly. Raven had calmly reassured him so and had pointed out why they had called both their best friends together. First was to announce them, and second was to ask for their help in the arrangements and to be apart of the ceremony. After they made they confirmed their impromptu announcement, Dick didn't know whether to be more startled over the fact his best friend was getting hitched or that Kori had passed out.

After the initial shock of seeing an unconscious Kori, everyone got up to help her. And that means everyone. Waiters rushed over, customers got up from their tables and Dick, Gar and Raven jumped. And yet somehow, all those people, excluding Raven, were men.

Once she was finally propped up, and came to after Raven smacked her lightly on her face. The first thing to escape from her lips and splutter onto Raven's face was, "YOU'RE GETTING MARRIED."

"Yes, Kor. We've established that."

"No, I mean.. You. You are getting married…. To… a guy… You. Of all people."

"Whoa, whoa whoa. What's that suppose to mean?" Gar asked in an excited tone.

"Not what you think," Raven silenced him before turning back to Kori. "What's so wrong with me getting married?"

"It's you!"

"And?"

Kori opened her mouth to say something but shut it. Then she said, "Nothing." She gave Raven a big, bright smile and caught her in an exuberant hug," Congrats, Rae. Never thought you'd get this far with any guy and he'd still be able to stand."

"Wait, what did she mean by that?"

Kori finally released Raven, "I'd be delighted to be apart of your wedding Rae, Gar." She told them excitedly. "Anyways, I need to start heading back now. I'll- I'll see you guys around." As quickly as she came, she was already halfway marching out of the restaurant, but she turned back to shout, "Congrats to the happy couple, again."

Dick stood there, next to Rae and Gar, a bit awestruck by how Kori reacted. She didn't seem sad per-say, she was genuinely proud and excited for her best friend…. But... it was evident a bit of misery and confusion dripped from her voice.

"Well?"

"Well what?" Dick asked, turning to Raven.

"Go after her, idiot."

And with that, he took off.

KORI!

KORI!

KORI, WAIT UP!

"What, Dick?" She grunted, pulling her helmet off. Richard had to sprint just to make it in time. Kori was parked right outside the doors and he reached outside when she was going to rev up her engine.

"Um.. um.." He panted.

"I-I need to get out of he- I just need to go-"

"Take me with you." He demanded, not letting her finish.

"But I'm not going back to ou-"

"I'm fine with that." He interrupted yet again. He walked closer to her and her bike, "Who wants to go back to a place like that anyways?" He rested one arm on the steering, as if it was a supremely casual thing to do, as he collected his breath. "I mean, -pant- have you seen my room?" He looked up. Their eyes met and he gave her a weak lopsided grin.

"But I…" She tried to ease her way out, but seeing his eyes so desperate to connect with hers, "Oh...Fine. Grab the other helmet and get on." She tried masking her voice with a little anger but she couldn't hide her growing smile.

Dick did a slight fist pump as he walked around her and climbed on behind her. He clipped on his helmet and let out a little laugh as she kicked back the stand and revved up the engine. He knew she was slightly better now, happy he could do his part of cheer her up a little bit. If you asked any other guy, they'd admit it'd be embarrassing to ride passenger on a bike with a girl driving... But…

Richard licked his lips as he encircled his arms around her waist. The best part of riding behind a girl as passenger on a motorbike, if you asked him, was riding behind the girl. He knew he was abusing this right, sitting passenger on Kori's bike and all… But, he couldn't help it. He was a guy. She was a girl. A very pretty girl.

Kori could hear him smile cheekily to himself. And he was smiling awfully loud, a bit too loud for a passenger.

VROOM.

"Wah-" He exclaimed when she revved it up loudly.

"You shouldn't do that without warning me first."

"My bad. Just wanted to catch your attention."

_Oh, don't worry about that, you do have my attention._ He thought to himself.

"Hey, Dick."

"Um… Yeah?"

Oh shit. He was caught wasn't he? Kori always was one step ahead of him. This was going to be about his arms around her waist. Dick could only have hoped to have held onto her for so long. The way to work and back was probably okay but on the way to this place was down right pushing it. He knew he shouldn't have abused this right. _Damnit._ He swore inwardly.

"I'm not going to hold back anymore so… you better hold on tight."

Dick found the edge of his lips rising as he tighten his grasp around her.

This time it was Kori's turn to start loudly smiling. Their defeaning smiles were covered by the loud roar of her bike as she zoomed off.

* * *

Kori landed on her back with a light oof. After a few seconds of laying sprawled out, her turned her head up. "Come on! The grass is great!"

"I'm coming, I'm coming! Geez. You run fast." Dick panted as he clambered his way up the hill. When he finally got up, he took a look at Kori, on her back. She looked up and rolled over onto her belly. "What took you so long? Come on, sit."

He quietly obeyed and sat cross-legged next to her. She sat upright, bringing her knees to her chest. Her eyes went on the sky ahead of them, and his were gazing at her.

Her red hair tumbled behind her in their wild curls. The sun cast a darker light over her as it gently slipped down the sky.

"Can you believe it?"

"What?"

"Raven is getting married."

"To Gar, of all people. Who would ever have thought it?"

"Certainly not me. "

They looked onto the view ahead of them, sharing a short silence.

"The funny thing is, Raven is not the type for love. She's… she's.."

"She's what?"

"She's Raven Roth. She dosen't fall in love, certainly not at first sight."

"Well, it was over a couple of months… Not really first sight kind of thing."

"I know her. And from what I've heard, she was flipped the moment she saw him." Her face seemed stern and full in concentration, but her voice was gentle and all-knowing. No one knew Raven more than Kori did. Not even Raven herself.

"So…What's the problem?"

"She's just…not the falling in love type."

"So are you saying she doesn't love Gar?" Worry ran across his face and words.

"No! Of course not! She does love him." He held his tongue, waiting for her to go on. "I'm saying she never believed in love…."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes."

"But she's getting married."

"I know!" She shouted, exasperated. Kori leaned back onto her elbows.

"So maybe… you're wrong. Maybe she is the type who falls and believes in love. What's so wrong with that?"

Kori seemed to contemplate deeply on his words.

"What is Raven like anyways?"

"Raven is… The wisest person you'll find. She's quiet, peace-loving and just so strong. She knows more about you than you'll ever think you know. She's the wisest woman on the planet. She gave me lessons on life and on what she called "social interpretation". She's the bestest friend too. Always there for me especially during the heartbreaks… Always ready to get dowsed in my tears. But she has her bad moods too." She smiled a small smile to herself. "It was her wise words that told me love is the prelude to disaster and despair."

"So, what does that mean?" He understood what it meant. But he wanted to know, _what did it mean to Kori? Why was she so worked up over this and twisting her insides over this one little phrase?"_

"It was her that made me realize so much, about school, about driving, about life ….. about love. And one day, when I was at my lowest point, I looked at my life and compared it to hers. Sure, mine was what every girl dreamt of having. But it was Raven's that every girl should have had. She had successful career, a few dozen degrees on her resume, a beautiful penthouse and a life full of wonderful, intelligent people just like her. I, on the other hand, had backstabbers on my left and right and a list of heartbreaks that reached the moon. So, Raven was and is my idol. I look up to her. She taught me to protect my heart, and hold my cards a bit closer to my chest. It was because of her wisdom and strength that I fell out of love with the idea of love and faith and all those silly things. To start doing things by myself. And since I did, I've come so far. I'm actually really happy. The happiest I've been in a long time." Her eyes stayed fixated on Richard's. "And now…. She comes back, head-over-heels with her soulmate who she met on a plane that only have 30 seats to some third world country on the other side of the globe. Now what am I suppose to believe in? I've never seen her so happy before. A part of me really wants to believe in love again. But…. Richard…." Dick looked into her eyes, hanging onto every word she had said, he was hanging for his dear life. And what she said next was either going to push him back up or let him plummet down.

"I'm terrified."

* * *

Was it okay? I continued ti from a few weeks ago... Cause that was the last time I wrote. T.T I wish I could write more but I'mjust so occupied, mentally and physically. I haven't been in the right mind-set to write. Sorry! Bad news, cannot promise anymore weekly updates. Good news, I was made cheer captain of my team. Yay  
Anyways, hope this was okay for you guys. I wanna write a oneshot of how Gar Raven met in my story. I might make it. MIGHT. I'm osrry. No promises. Anyways, stay hydrated, eat plenty of fruit and brush your teeth. See ya'll... next chap!


	16. A Helpful Intervention

**Chapter 16: A Helpful Intervention**

Groaaannnnnnnn.

…

…

…

Grrrooaaaaaaaaaaannnnnnnnnn.

…

…

…

Grunt. Groaaannnnnnnnnnnn.

…

…

"Ahem."

He lifted his arm off his head that was hanging over the large lavish couch. His eyes caught onto his upside-down butler with a stoical and pompous expression.

Richard quickly returned to his former position with his arm on his face then rolled into the back of the couch.

From his little corner of soft cushion, he could hear a sigh.

"You have yet another missed call, Master Grayson."

Grunt.

"I feel you do not have any matters to you'd like to discuss with her?"

Grunt.

"You do wish to talk to her."

A soft grunt.

"Perhaps you just do not want her to talk to you."

Silence.

"You, however, would like to talk to her."

Silence.

"And very badly, as it seems."

The only sound was Dick shifting in his place.

"Master Grayson, though it is much of a pleasure to have you back in the mansion, you do not belong here. This may be your mansion. But it is not your home."

"You just rather have only Bruce to clean up after." He retorted.

"How accurate it may, it does not change the fact that I believe you being away from here and staying at your former apartment would be in best interests for your oneself, if I may say so."

"Well, you may not say so." He grumbled. He really wanted this conversation to stop, but Alfred seemed to be on a roll today.

"Avoiding your friends is not a way to life your life, although your life has already been considered one of the liveliest of the century according to Forbes Magazine."

Dick smiled to himself about that little accomplishment that he held proudly under his belt. Under the cushion, his face went back to a sour expression. "I'm not avoiding anyone."

"Oh, then who have you contacted in the past few weeks since you have returned to Wayne Manor?"

Silence.

"Did you tell anyone you were returning to the mansion?"

After a long, pause, there was a reluctant, "No."

"And why not, if I may ask."

"I believe you have exceeded you limit on asking questions about my personal life, Alfred. Can't you go and bug Bruce about his social life?"

"Master Bruce, as you know, left for Shanghai few days before you returned."

Dick remained silent. Of course he knew. He planned all the timing perfectly. Or at least, the timing was perfect when he came up with the plan

"Perhaps you should call Miss Anders. She seems very eager for you to call back. Or to not call back, as she stated in her last call."

He knew he shouldn't ask, but he was so curious. "Was she…upset?"

"I cannot begin to explain, Sir. And it seems that I've exceed my stay on the subject of personal matters." Alfred eloquently finished his sentence, Dick could hear his soft footsteps walking over to the table next to him. He was going to do what he always has done for Richard: Clean up the mess he made.

"Wait." Richard was upright on the chair.

Alfred stopped in his path out the door. He quickly turned around, with Dick's untouched, full whisky glass in his hand.

"Alfred, what do I do?"

"For what, Master Grayson?"

You know what, Alfred. You probably knew the moment I walked back in," He dropped his head into his hands. "I just don't want to hurt her."

"Are you not doing that now? Is not answering her calls or ever planning to speak to her not hurting her?"

"I don't know. Isn't this better?"

"Ignoring the problem is never solution. Especially when there was never a problem to begin with."

"What are-"

"It is even worse to create problems for such a beautiful woman who's innocently waiting for a reply she may never receive."

"But-"

"You may be a certified womanizer by the eyes of the press and public, Master Grayson, but you do not know squat about woman."

"Hey! I do know squat! I think you've said more than your fair share about me and my-."

"Master Grayson." Alfred stated strictly. "Do you like this girl?" He had probably only hear Alfred ask him that question once, and that was when he was in pre-school and he made friends with the commisioner's daughter.

"Well…."

"You do not hurt the ones you love."

"I'm not…."

"Oh really, master Grayson? To leave a woman who invested so much of her trust in you only to have you leave without a goodbye and then to not answer her calls."

"Or at least I hope I'm not." He looked down to his hands. What is he saying? What is he doing? What will he do?

"Women are not idiots, Master Grayson. They understand the term revenge and can execute it better than they can define it."

"What are you getting at, Alfred?"

"Oh nothing. There's just an old saying. Just keep in mind, Master Grayson: the only worse way to upset a lady, is to upset her best friend."

Alfred placed the glass onto his tray and began his way out of the room.

Dick's mind began to race. There was something he was forgetting, wasn't he? Something important. Just as Dick thought Alfred had walked out the room, he heard a voice tell him, "It's about time you start getting dressed."

Dick turned around to where Alfred should have been, but wasn't. Mysterious butler. His eyes slowly moved to the grandfathers clock standing beside the doorway Alfred had disappeared through.

"Fuck," Dick cursed under his breath.

The clock's bell chime went off and bounced all around the room.

DING.

DING.

DING.

DING.

DING.

But it didn't a chance to touch Richard because just like his butler, he had vanished into thin air.

* * *

Heyoooo! So, nothing big happened here, just that Dick learnt something important. That's noteworthy! There's a little foreshadowing here. Somewhere... that was meant for the ending of this chap and the beginning of the next. HEHE. Isn't literature cool? Well, it only is when you get to write it. Or you get to discover things that relate to the characters. It's dull when they concentrate on teh author... I just started lit classes and we're doing Shakespeare. Teacher was droning about how Shakespeare was a racy man we all had to talk about what we thought about him. Meh. I like it better when we investigate the characters's depth and desires. :B Anyways, I was just writing to cool off my head (Incompetent teachers. Not lit teacher, she's cool. The other bloody fools. Sigh.)and I think it was plenty well, cause a new chapter was completed! YAY.

Swamped with tons of deadlines and I'm sick with everything right now. You name it: headache, cough, flu, fever etc. So my mind is totally unapplicable for anything, that includes writing the next chap. I'm just so full of excuses... See ya'll in the next chap. :)


	17. Nothing Burns Hotter Than A Womans Wrath

**Chapter 17: Nothing Burns Hotter Than A Woman's** Wrath.

_Oh God. Why is this sermon so long? I have a million other things that I should've done half an hour ago…_

Bzzt bzzt. Bzzt bzzt.

Kori Anders gripped onto her bag, as many shhhhhs erupted all around her.

"Sorry." She whispered, moving her bag to the floor in front of her shoes. Then went back to listening to the pastor as he went on about right choices and righteous deeds. She sat back in a strict, discipline sort of manner when she saw the pastor eyeing her. She had to get him to like her. What else would she do if she didn't?

So Kori tried her best to be a good samaritan in church but her mind just couldn't concentrate, despite sitting at the front, Kori's mind was in a dozen other places at the moment.

_There's the flowers._

_The cake._

_The dress._

Bzzt. Bzzt.

_The fittings._

_Then the bridal shower._

_Maybe I should surprise them with- _

Bzzt. Bzzt.

_Ugh. I really need to get rid of him calling. Sigh. Then I'll need to check back with the office abo_-

Bzzt. Bzzt.

_Urgh. Can't he take a hint? I mean a "no" is one thing and a "hell no" is a definite thing. _

Bzzt. Bzzt.

"Fucking hell"

SHHHHHHHHH!

"I'm sorry!"

STEP. STEP STEP. BOOM. SLAM. STEP STEP. CRASH. STEP. STEP.

The whole church turned back to see one very rich and very late millionaire playboy take his first few steps into a church, with a frantic woman running after him, screaming in a loud whisper, "Sir, you're not suppose to be here. The mass had started and-"

Having ignored her since he set foot on the church property, he cut her off by saying, "It won't be long, I'm looking for- Oh there she is!" He put his arm up to send Kori a big wave. Kori, dumbfounded in her place, did the best she could to smile before sitting back down onto the bench, as she ignored all the people who were fast asleep just a few minutes a go stare at her in disgust.

_That fucking imbecile._

Kori cringed as she, and the entire synagogue heard the lady whisper frantically, "Excuse me, you really shouldn't-"

She shut her eyes as hear his voice confidently boom, "Thanks for the help,"

"But-" She cried, grabbing onto the sleeve of his shirt, trying to save him and the mass.

But, unaware of her intentions, he merely brushed her off with, "I've got it from here. Thanks."

With that, Dick Grayson made his way to Kori, who was sitting right at the front of the church and the pastor.

Kori started counting down from ten. Maybe when she reached one, this would be all a dream.

9…

8….

7…

She could hear the echo of his expensive shoes as they strode across the tiled floor.

4….

3….

2….

"Hey, Kori."

Kori kept on looking forward, trying to ignore him.

He tried again, louder. "Pssst. Kori."

She refused to give him time of day.

"Excuse me," She heard him whisper. There was the sound of grunts and more shhhs before something planted itself next to her. She opened her eyes. Correction: someone.

"Hey Kori-,"

Shhhhh

"I really need to talk to-"

Shhhhhhh

"Shhh, yourself, you old bat." He whispered to the woman behind him.

He turned back to Kori, but this time she pinched his lips shut with her fingers.

And through gritted teeth, she whispered to him, "Outside the doors, next to the large statue in the grotto. 5 minutes."

She took away her fingers and Richard tried to appeal, but she had already grabbed her bag, squeezed out the row and was taking quiet steps out the door.

He stood up to follow her, but unfortunately he was right in the middle of the pew and the people didn't seem eager to let him through. Richard sat back on the chair, exasperated.

He didn't realize how much he missed her until now.

* * *

"Where the hell have you been?"

"Whoa, watch it. You're on holy ground."

Dick walked out of the doors, to the open aired grotto. It was a humble little area, the grotto was made of whitewashed stone and had a shallow pool water. On the outside, few stands with candles stood tall, almost hidden among the large, lush green bushes and bright flowers that surrounded a tall statue of the Holy Mother. Kori stood there, in the shadow of the grotto. Her scarlet hair flailed around her as a light breeze brushed by.

"Dick-"

"Huh, haven't seen you what, in 3 weeks and you've converted religiously?"

"Dick, just answer me." She growled, her patience was running thin.

"I mean, look at that crowd! I don't think I'd want to spend my afterlife with any of them"  
"Stop it Richard."

Dick couldn't feel his feet, suddenly his shoes felt too tight. He literally stopped at arms length in front of her.

"You almost never call me that."

"You don't answer me when I call you Dick." She caught his eyes, looked straight at him, making sure he didn't let go. "What happened, Richard?"

After about a minute of silence, she realized he wasn't going to answer with anything more than a loosely gaping mouth. She went on," Three weeks. Not a peep, not a call, not a text. Not even a goodbye. Where did you go? It seemed like right after Gar and Rae announced their engagement, you just vanished."

"Well-…" He didn't have anymore to say than that.

"Aren't you going to tell me why? Why you left in all of a sudden? Why you're not answering my calls? And why you won't show up to work?"

"Uh…"

"Would it be easier for you to explain to me how I'm suppose to plan this entire wedding by myself? Without the best man to help me handle the happy couple and their totally outrageous and conflicting requests?"

"Oh yeah forgot about that..."

"I thought you went off and died," her gaze softened. Sometime while she was talking, she had moved closer to him. Now less than a feet of distance between them, their faces stayed not far from each other. And in all seriousness, she asked him, "Do you know how boring Jump City is without a friend to chill out with? Rae has been busy with work and getting gooey with Gar. It would have been nice to have my best friend around. Believe it or not, I needed you. And I really missed you." Her voice changed from sarcastic and joking to a more low and genuine tone. She gave him a warm little smile as she ended her lecture, glad to have him back.

She took a small, final step towards him, their bodies now were at hands width distance. She tilted her head up to his and he could feel his body melt to her warm smile. He let his head droop a little and he felt his mind begin to numb as the breeze picked up and her perfume flowed under his nose.

At that point, Dick couldn't hold it in anymore.

"I love you."

…..

…..

….

….

SPLASH.

Kori shoved him and Dick fell back into the pool.

With his head still under the water, he looked up, through the clear water and thought he saw an angel.

But when a hand dipped into the water and yanked him by his shirt, he realised it was far from an angel. The eyes of the devil stared back at him.

Kori had ahold of his shirt collar, and had pulled him towards her.

Her eyes blazed different from its usual shimmer. This one more deadly.

"Kori, let me-" He tried to start explaining but stopped mid-sentence as his eyes had caught onto something else.

"Urm, Kori…"

"What?!"

"FIRE!"

* * *

That was really short. But fun. Got back on the writing horse again, after so long. Felt really good. :) Things just haven't been so smoothly the last couple of weeks and I've barely gotten less than a day's worth or sleep in the whole month. And i have an inability to nap so I thought I'd try to write and see what I'd come up with. I think that wasn't too bad since this was written on the first attempt. Anyways, hope I get the chance to write more. A lot of people have been favouriting and following. Thank you! I love every single one of you. 3 And thankd for the review about my "HAHAHA" I really appreciate it. :) I'll fix it in the next upcomin chapters. Bye. :)


	18. When More Than Rules are Broken

**Chapter 18: When More Than Rules are Broken.**

"That supermodel-girl pushed her boyfriend into the pool. And the moment that-that-that- cretin touched the holy water under the sacred mother, the bushes came ablaze. It's a sign of God I tell you! He's the devil's spawn! The devil's spawn! Pure evil! Good men do not sport such shiny footwear or such!"

"I think that's enough ma'am. Thank you for your cooperation."

An officer put a blanket around the shaking woman and took her away. The detective shook her head as she closed her blank notepad. When there were reports of arson, supernatural activity and even terrorism from the church, she and her whole team rushed over, armed and with supplies ready to take down whatever monster or creep there was. Now it just turns out it was a small argument that led to a somewhat small bush fire. She was actually really excited. It could've been her biggest takedown with her new title of-

"Detective Gordon, now, I hear?

She spun around. _Haven't heard that voice since-_

"Dick! Well," She gave him a quick once over, "I was about to say 'look what the cat dragged in', but I think I know a catfish when I see one."

"Always so sweet on the words. What are you doing in Jump?"

"I've been asked to look on a case. What are you doing at the scene of- oh wait," she brought her head down as she reluctantly said, "Don't tell me."

"Brings back memories, doesn't it?" He quipped, squeezing water from the pair of socks he held in his hands.

"What did you do now?"

"Come on, even after all these years, you still see me as the fire starter?"

"Do I need to remind you of the actual fire you started?"

"Well… before you take out your gun at me, it was just an accident, okay? I tripped and fell back into the pool. I guess I must have hit one of the candle stands on my way down cause a tiny fire started."

"Tiny, huh?" Their eyes gazed towards the charred half of the bushes that surrounded the tarnished Mary statue. A high part of the wall was scorched and had black marks.

"Not even I can control the wind."

Barbara shook her head dismissively. "Anyways, I'll still need your statement. And I need to talk to the 'supermodel-girl'."

"Kori? Why?"

"So you know her? Why am I not surprised?" _When there's a supermodel, there is or has been Richard. _She thought to herself as she started to move away.

A red-haired figure sat on the hood of a police car, watching as a group of male police officers were arguing over who would take her statement.

Richard stepped in front of her. "You don't need to talk to her. It was just a misunderstanding. It's all my fault, she didn't do anything."

She eyed him suspiciously, "You've never taken fault of anything, and I mean _anything_, in your entire life. Now that I think of it, nobody could ever get you to set foot into a church before. What happened to you?" She added sarcastically, "Did Richard Grayson actually grow a conscious?"

Richard wasn't sure what to say.

"I bet it's that girl." She looked over his shoulder. "Now I really want to talk to her."

"But-," Richard tried.

"Sorry, police protocol." She pushed past him, and walked over to two of her subordinates, who were about to flip a coin. "Officer-"

BOOOOM.

A clap of thunder stopped her. "Officer, it's about to rain. Bring the girl to the precinct."

"Sir? The precinct? The church isn't pressing any charges so, by right, we don't need to take her down town. We just need to talk to her about the incident."

"Officer." She said sternly. "That's what exactly what I intend to do: talk to her."

* * *

Barbara stepped into the interrogation room, two cups of coffee in her hands. "I hope your ride here was…" She fought to find the right word, "agreeable."

The moment she announced they were bringing her back to the precinct, a big commotion erupted over which car she'd go in to the precinct. In the end, Kori went with Officer she spoke to earlier .

"Fine, I guess." She shrugged. "The back of a police car hasn't really changed since the last time."

"So you've been arrested before?"

"But that's not why I'm here."

_Defensive. Hmmmmm. _She was trying to get a read on her, it looked like Kori was the type of girl who was as deep as a kiddies swimming pool, but seeing how far her questions got answers, it sounded like she was a bit deeper than that.

"No, it isn't. We just had to ask you some questions before we could let you go. And the church preferred if we left the sacred ground." She lied, setting a cup on the table that Kori sat behind.

Kori seemed to accept that answer, but only because she had to.

"So, Miss Kori Anders, am I correct?" She held the form Kori had filled out when she arrived.

"The one and only."

"You work at Wayne Enterprises." Barbara took important note of that as she walked around the small room and stood behind Kori. _Tall and gorgeous. Those parts fit Richard perfectly. _She almost rolled her eyes.

"That's what I wrote on the form." Kori said bluntly. "I'm sorry, but how much longer do I have to be here? I have errands to run." She whipped her head around, her red curls flowing wildly. _Redhead_. _He does have a tendency for redheads. _She tucked a few auburn strands of stray hairs behind her ear.

"Just a bit longer. Can you tell me what you were doing at the church?"

"Listening to the priest's sermon, just like the other dozen people who go to Church."

_With a mouth that knows how to talk. That's certainly out of Dick's inquiry._

"Outside the synagogue?"

"Yes."

"Okay then. And how did you go from listening to the priest to pushing a man into a pool of water and setting the grotto on fire?"

"I was in the synagogue. We went out to talk and he fell."

"Hmm… And how do you know Dick?"

"He's a neighbor." She stopped there, her tone seemed to have little enthusiasm on the subject of him.

"I see. And that's all?"

"Yes."

"Okay, the-,"

"How do _you_ know him?" Kori turned the question onto her interrogator.

"What makes you think I know him?"

"You didn't call him , not even Richard. You're used to talking about him by his nickname. That shows intimacy."

_This girl has some wit. _

"Yeah I know Dick. We're friends."

"And that's all?" Kori's tone matching Barbara's just a moment ago, her arms crossed over her chest.

_Oh, I see how it is. _Barbara sat down on the chair opposite Kori, leaning back casually._ "_I've always known Dick. My dad's Chief Gordon, chief of the Gotham's Police Department. His step-dad's Bruce Wayne, richest benefactor in Gotham. They're poker buddies with the mayor, so, me and Richard always ended up getting thrown into the small circle of Gotham's elite. We even went to the same high school."

"Oh, so you know Gar?"

Barbara was a bit surprised by the fact she knew Gar. "Yes, I do."

"So, what? You, Richard and Gar are best buddies?"

"You could say that." She leaned back in her chair, smiling to herself as she reminisced good old times. "I can't even tell you the number of times I bailed their butts out of the trouble they got themselves into." She sat back up with the question, "And how do you know Garfield?"

Kori calmly replied, "He's marrying my best friend."

Barbara slammed her fists onto the table. "Gar's getting married!? Since when?"

"He proposed a few weeks ago. You didn't know? So much for being best buddies."

That last line struck a bit deep. "Well, aren't _you_ a bit prejudice, Miss Princess?"

"I am not a princess." Kori stated clearly, her teeth clenched.

"Then what are you, Miss Anders? So far you're a girl who throws men into pools when you're supposed to be listening to the priest's sermon in a church she's never been seen in before. Now something just doesn't add up about that, about you as a matter of fact. So maybe you should tell me what exactly happened before I find out for myself."

Kori leaned back into her chair and crossed her arms over her chest. She fluttered her eyelids lightly and looked straight into the Detective's own green eyes. The greens mirrored each other with the same determination and astuteness.

"Fine."

* * *

He glanced at his watch for the umpteenth time. _What's going on? Sure, Barb could be a hard-ass, but come on, it was just a small fire. Maybe she was just doing it cause of last time…. That hard-ass._

_"hahahahah!" _

_"hahahhaha!"_

Dick looked up to witness what could have been a fantasy to most men but felt more of a sickening nightmare to him. Both, Kori Anders and Barbara Gordon stood on the highest step to the police precinct. Both red heads were chuckling at what seemed like an inside joke. Their outstanding green eyes squinted as their face pulled up in smiles. Two beautiful women. And any man would be lucky to get to know even one of them. Yet Richard's heart wouldn't stop racing for some how he couldn't drop the sensation he was at risk because he knew them both so well.

The two ladies stopped when they noticed Richard leaning against his sports car. _Gulp._

"Hey, Barb."

Barbara returned the greeting with a sly grin and a nod before saying bye to Kori and walking back into the station.

Kori walked down the steps. Dick stood up and rushed up to her, "Kori, do you want a lift back? I mean, we could talk-"

Lightning flashed in the sky behind them.

"There's nothing to talk about." Kori bluntly said, reaching the last step. She rummaged through her bag without looking up to him.

Kori turned left and took a few steps.

Dick followed her," But Kori aren't we going to talk about-"

RUMBLE. RUMBLE. The sky roared to life.

Suddenly she turned around.

BOOOM. Another clap of thunder sounded.

"I really need to go Richard," and started rushing the other way.

"But-" He chased after her. Swarms of people were rushing past him. He was losing her. He reached out for her, "Kori-," but it was too late. She was already too far away. He saw her fiery hair disappearing within the crowd of people.

He lost her. Just like that.

He looked up. _Oh, it's raining. _

Barbara stood in the shadows, her fingers between the blinds that were angled just enough so she could see out. She looked away, hearing a car door close. Expecting a vroom of an engine, but was left disappointed. She looked back out to see Richard sitting in his car, forehead on the steering wheel, arms around his face. The blinds snapped back together. She couldn't really believe what happened: Richard Grayson just had his heartbroken.

* * *

Elo! I've been hit with a blackout and my laptop was fully charged. So I got to writing and just so happens Barbara Gordon got written into the chapter. I did not even plan to put her in. It just so happen I was thinking of involving the police in this chap cause I'm a huge Castle fan so… Heh. Anyways, I'm getting a lot of feedback from you guys and I love everyone one of you. This was initially supposed to be 2 separate chaps but I think it was better as one long one. Hope you guys liked it. :) I wonder what's the next chap going to be about? :o Hehe.


End file.
